The Journey of K'Eihdan
by Bearthsong
Summary: Two Klingons, K'Eihdan and his brother Kabrech, are at a "dull-as-ditch-water" peace conference on Earth and accept an invitation by their newly-met friend, Jorry Kettsen, to go to his mountain cabin. They soon become unwittingly embroiled in the treacherous schemes of a fur-trading outlaw who plans to use them to kill the Galactic Fur Trade's fiercest critic, Gyalaar of Triar.
1. The Human Hand-Shake

5

 _ **The Journey of K'Eihdan**_

 _ **Chapter One: The Human Hand-Shake**_

The passengers for Spaceflight 500 filed onto the craft in a polite, orderly fashion. For the most part, the passengers were Human, as the flight was bound for Terra; but there were a few Vulcan scientists, Betazoid tourists, and Tellarite businessmen. It was a relatively routine trip, and it was not uncommon to see such beings on a passenger ship bound for Earth.

For at least four passengers, however, it was anything but a routine voyage. The Klingon officers clomped noisily along the star-white corridor, hurrying to get in line before the flight left without them. Several passengers turned around in surprise. Some even appeared shocked. Klingons did not usually travel aboard Federation passenger vessels, especially not officers of the Kingon Empire.

 _This will indeed be interesting,_ thought K'Eihdan as he strode over to the line-up and stood stock still behind an elderly lady. He could tell from her fidgety hands that she was very nervous, and she evidently did not dare to turn around to find out what big, burly being was behind her.

K'Eihdan chuckled quietly to himself. Klingon warriors commanded a kind of notorious respect throughout the galaxy, in spite of the fact that the Federation and the Empire had shared a peaceful alliance for over seventy years. Although the alliance existed, there was little social interaction between the ordinary people of the Federation and the Klingon Empire.

K'Eihdan had noticed that most Federation people he had met seemed to know little about the Klingon way of life and assumed that all of his people were savage psychopaths. Indeed, K'Eihdan realized, it was true that some of them were, but they were all in government. The ordinary _rugbahs_ like himself were really nothing to become alarmed about. It was, however, reassuring to see people shiver and quake at their arrival. It was important for a warrior to be perceived as foreboding. On the other hand, K'Eihdan found it a bit awkward. He was a man who liked to talk and laugh, which was difficult to do when everybody expected you to be sombre and fearsome all the time. K'Eihdan had always loved joking around, even as a small toddler. His mother K'aPrit always told him that he used to tangle himself in her balls of _Yark-wool, y_ owling funny songs at her. He gave a low chuckle as he thought of it, and of the crazy tussles he used to get into with his large band of brothers and sisters. His younger brother, Kabrech, was now with him on this mission, and seemed to be very serious about it all.

K'Eihdan longed to tussle with him, to get him to test his fighting skills and perhaps to laugh, at least a little bit. It was not a good idea at the moment, he knew, but at some point he would take the young one for a tumble. At seventeen years of age, his brother Kabrech was the same age as K'Eihdan's son, who was in training school back on _Qo'nos_ , one of the Klingon home-worlds.

"I have an urge to throw you to the ground!" K'Eihdan chortled, grabbing a strand of Kabrech's long black hair. Kabrech snarled, baring his teeth in true Klingon fashion. The passengers standing in front of them hurried along, wishing to avoid these combative creatures.

"Do not start, K'Eihdan!" barked K'Var, the junior officer in command of the three other men, "or I will have you put in chains...when we are finally assigned to an actual vessel instead of being forced to travel aboard fancy passenger ships, like a troop of fools."

"Yes, Sir," K'Eihdan squeaked in mock submission to his much younger superior. His irreverent attitude towards authority had on more than one occasion nearly cost him his life, but he knew exactly how far he could go with K'Var. K'Var was a man who was respected by his fellow warriors, but not feared. He was strong without being humorless, which was what K'Eihdan liked about him. Wohl, the oldest man among them, gave K'Eihdan a warning glance before shaking his head in a resigned fashion. Wohl was like a father to K'Eihdan, and was continually warning him to watch his behavior around authority figures.

"K'Eihdan, you are too much of a clown," he would tell him again and again, "you must not aggravate your commanding officers, or you will find yourself in big trouble... _again_."

K'Eihdan always laughed at Wohl's cautious attitude.

"Yes, Barbarr," he would respond, using one of the many Klingon terms for an elderly "father" or "uncle". The term was used mainly in the rugged rural areas of the _Kahless Mountains_ , where both K'Eihdan and Wohl grew up. K'Eihdan was from a large family, from whom he inherited his folksy sense of humor. He spoke often in his own local dialect and engaged in what Klingons from the urban areas referred to as "mountain manners." Even when he was at home, his people knew him as a man who liked to fool around.

After he had joined the military, however, such behavior did not endear him to his superiors. In fact, K'Eihdan knew perfectly well what stupidity it was to fool around with certain officers—and he had learned which ones those were the hard way. He had been tied in the brig for days on end without food or water many a time, and stabbed with a knife on other occasions. He had survived all of these assaults, because he was very strong. Perhaps he was not one of the most educated people that Klingon society had to offer; but at least he had maintained his honor. That could not be disputed.

"Get going!" K'Var thundered to K'Eihdan, pushing him along after the retreating passengers. K'Eihdan hurried along after them, clutching his boarding pass. It was in the form of a strange, silver square as opposed to the rock-paper that Klingons used for such things.

He handed it to the attendant, a young human female who smiled and said, "Thank you, Sir. To your left, please; your host will show you to your quarters."

Once inside the ship, another smiling human ushered K'Eihdan and the others to a luxurious bedroom, complete with mattresses, bedspreads, sheets, many knickknacks, and a replicator for meals. K'Eihdan dropped his small shoulder-bag and stood there in surprise.

"We're to stay _here?_ " he asked incredulously.

The host smiled.

"Yes, I hope it's to your liking, Sir?"

"Why, sure," K'Eihdan replied, speaking the Terran language.

He had learned the language from his ex-mate and her people, whose planet, Karlonn, had a great many humans dwelling on it.

"These are shared rooms," the host explained, "two of you stay in this room and two in the neighboring room."

He handed clip-on universal translators to the four of them.

"These translators are handed out to all of our passengers to facilitate communication among the vast array of linguistic forms spoken aboard our ship. They are yours to keep...courtesy of the Federation, which seeks to encourage understanding between all peoples in the galaxy."

"Yes, yes," K'Var growled irritably, "We know that the Federation seeks to monopolize all cultures into its own bland version of an Empire."

"With all due respect, Sir," the ever-smiling host replied, "That is not at all the mission of the Federation..."

"Leave us now!" K'Var barked authoritatively, "You have completed your function as host."

"Yes, Sir," replied the host cheerfully, "as you wish."

After the host had exited, K'Var fixed his gaze upon K'Eihdan.

"I'll stay in the other room with Wohl," K'Var stated bluntly, "you will drive Kabrech insane instead of me, K'Eihdan."

Kabrech scowled as K'Var and Wohl departed into the adjoining room. K'Eihdan threw his shoulder-bag across the room and then sat on the strangely soft "mattress". He bounced on it experimentally. He did not know how Humans and others could stand to sleep on a trampoline! Like most Klingons, he preferred his bed hard, flat, and low.

"It's a jumping mat," he murmured, "Why do Humans like to sleep on something designed to encourage exercise?"

"Because they're too soft!" Kabrech snarled, "I'm going to sleep on the floor."

"I'm going to try to sleep on the jumping mat," K'Eihdan countered, "as a challenge to myself. I will do battle with the jumping mat as I sleep."

"Just as you do battle with delicate flowers blowing in the breeze, Brother!" Kabrech scoffed.

"If not me," K'Eihdan taunted his younger brother gleefully, "then who else will defend the Empire against the soft beds and breezy flowers of the Federation?"

"Ahh," Kabrech replied, giving in to K'Eihdan's invitation to be foolish, "The mighty K'Eihdan challenges himself by sleeping on a bouncy-soft bed! What will be next for the fearless warrior? Perhaps the challenge of eating a Terran Ice-cream Sugar Sundae?"

K'Eihdan roared in laughter at his younger sibling's attempt to assert dominance.

Kabrech growled, baring his teeth once again. Finally, he sprung to his feet and attacked his older brother. The two men crashed to the floor, locked in jovial combat. K'Eihdan laughed as they tumbled into a bureau and sent a glass ornament crashing to the floor. The noise brought the host back to the room, flying through the door in alarm.

"What the...?" he exclaimed, startled. He stopped short upon seeing K'Eihdan sitting atop of Kabrech, who was lying on the floor snarling at his annoying family member.

K'Eihdan grinned sheepishly at the host, arising from his "victory" over the youngster.

"We apologize, Sir," he said, "I was simply teaching my younger brother his manners...Klingon style."

"Uh...that's no problem, Mr. K'Eihdan," the host replied reassuringly, "I'll have someone come in and remove the surviving breakables and then...you two can...er...go at it."

Once the host had left, Kabrech charged K'Eihdan once more, determined to establish dominance. K'Eihdan laughingly struck Kabrech down, sending him flying onto a table which was decorated with ornaments. There was no way in the galaxy that he was going to let a seventeen-year-old command him. Kabrech would eventually find his place within the command hierarchy, but it would not come easily to him. The playful tussle was to remind him of his place without eroding his youthful confidence.

Kabrech was not about to give up and was hurling himself upon K'Eihdan when the hapless host returned to the room with a maintenance-android. The Machine-Man was briskly ordered to clean the mess that the two brawling Klingons had created, retrieve the other delicate objects, and then get out as soon as possible. Unfortunately, in the host's absence the rest of the breakables had already broken, so the android only had to clear the shattered glass. K'Eihdan and Kabrech were considerate enough to pause their scrapping long enough to let him do that.

The two Klingons sat, staring dumbly at the robotic cleaning-creature from their place on the floor as another Human male, elderly and grey-haired, entered into the room.

"All right, Charlie," he said to the android, "just put the broken shards in the recycling machine."

The pale-faced android named Charlie obeyed without uttering a word. The Old One nodded at the host, who quickly withdrew.

"Now," the old man thundered, "does someone want to tell me what in the bloody blue blazes is going on here?"

"Oh, just a playful tussle with my young brother, Old Man," K'Eihdan retorted in what he considered to be a polite fashion.

The old man evidently did not share K'Eihdan's assessment of the melee and peered down at him as though he considered himself a god of the stars.

"All right, I'm going to be real clear," he roared, "You two are going to break it up... _pronto..._ or I'll have security detain you both!"

K'Eihdan sprung to his feet, gesturing to Kabrech to stop all horseplay immediately. He looked into the gentleman's angry brown eyes and saw that this man had no doubt been a formidable force in his younger years...and perhaps even more so now that the wisdom of age was on his side. Although he was a small man, he had spoken without a trace of fear or hesitation.

"Are you the Chief of Security, Grandfather?" asked K'Eihdan in what he hoped would be interpreted as a good-natured jibe.

"No," the man returned evenly, "I'm the Chief of Maintenance Staff. I run the 'bots and androids that keep this barge tidy for the folks who ride in it. When the 'bots break, I fix them. When people get out of hand, I go in and smarten them up...and, by the way, I don't take 'no' for an answer."

"You've never traveled in a Klingon ship, have you, Grey-Hair?"

"Actually," the man revealed, "I have. I worked as a janitor aboard an Empire cargo ship for about two years. When I got sick of being hurled against the bulk-heads, I left to work for the Andorians."

"The Andorians," Kabrech snorted in derision, "are soft and feeble, with antennae like delicate butterflies."

"Shows how much you know about Andorians, Kid," the man grunted, "The Andies were worse than the Klingons. I lasted about eight months on that one and then jumped ship and took a job on a Tellarite cargo. I was there for thirty years...the Tells are brutally honest and pretty argumentative, but at least they don't go in for bullying people to prove how strong they are...for the most part. No species is perfect, but I was tired of my own and I wanted to learn something from The Others."

"How old were you when you worked for our people?" Kabrech asked, his curiosity outweighing his need to dominate.

"I was about your age," the old man responded, "seventeen or thereabouts. It's not easy, living among people who have different ways from your own. But when I was there, I respected the culture of the Klingons...and now that you two are riding aboard an Earth vessel, you need to respect our ways. So, boys, I'd better not hear any more about you rolling about on the floor locked in combat and smashing things left, right, and center."

"It was just silly frolicking," K'Eihdan reassured the oldster, "but we'll stop, if it offends you."

"It doesn't offend me," the man retorted, "It just pisses me off...and believe me, that's something you don't want to do. By the way, my name is Jorry Kettsen. We Humans usually greet each other by shaking hands...like this."

Jorry Kettsen held out his hand, and K'Eihdan took it. The man then bobbed both of their hands up and down, before turning and performing the same gesture with Kabrech.

"What does it mean?" Kabrech asked suspiciously.

"It was once performed by Earth-men who, with the act of shaking of hands, agreed in that moment to put down their weapons and not slay each other," Kettsen explained.

"In that case," K'Eihdan assured the elderly Human, "we agree not to slay you, Jorry Kettsen."


	2. The Lure of Adventure

3

 _ **Chapter Two: The Lure of Adventure**_

Jorry Kettsen had returned to show the two Klingons old video recordings of life on Earth. They had been asking him questions about Earth, and so he decided to show them rather than tell them what the planet and its people were like.

"You two are some ways from home," he noted as they watched him prepare the show, "What's your business down this way?"

"We cannot discuss Empire business with you, Human," Kabrech told him imperiously.

K'Eihdan gave his brother a push.

"Keep quiet, 'Brech! I am the elder brother!"

"You folks sure do like to push each other around, don't you?" Kettsen asked them.

"We're brothers," K'Eihdan explained, "I, as the elder brother, need to teach this one that he will not achieve dominance through youthful arrogance alone."

"No," Kettsen agreed, looking at Kabrech intently, "but arrogance, young or old, certainly helps...if you want to be dominant, that is. How old are you, boy?"

"I am a man of seventeen years," Kabrech replied, drawing himself up proudly.

"Well, man-of-seventeeen-years," Kettsen chided him, "I agree with your brother. You need to learn to respect your elders; and, I would add, you need to respect them no matter what species they are from. You need to understand the difference between leadership and just plain bullying. A real leader doesn't need to keep putting people down, because he's got enough confidence in himself to listen to points of view that are different from his own. Those that don't have the confidence have to keep proving how great they are by bullying others, usually those who are weaker. You know what I mean, K'Eihdan?"

The old man's irony was not lost on K'Eihdan. It was not just Kabrech that the oldster was lecturing.

"Oh, yes, Jorry Kettsen, I know what you mean," K'Eihdan replied in a jovial fashion, "You think I'm being too hard on my little brother. But you need to understand that in our culture, weakness is not tolerated. You must know what we are like, having lived among us for two years?"

"Yes, I do," Kettsen retorted, "and I take your point, K'Eihdan; but even within your warrior culture, I noticed that there were men who ruled wisely and men who ruled with their fists alone. I still maintain that, even in the Klingon Empire, good leadership goes hand-in-hand with less violence and more wisdom. Your commanding officer, K'Var is an example of a good leader, as long as he listens to his wise mentor, Wohl."

K'Eihdan stared at Kettsen in surprise.

"You know K'Var and Wohl?" he asked.

"Yes," Kettsen replied serenely, "I consulted them before I came in here to give you two what-for. I knew enough to ask permission to go in and chastise you, because I didn't want K'Var to think that I was usurping his authority...and as for Wohl, he served on the very same cargo vessel that I did many years ago. He's about the same age as I am...maybe even a few younger than me."

"You served aboard the _Kah-Dok_ ," K'Eihdan exclaimed, "Wohl served on it, and so did I when I came into my adolescence. I, too, was a janitor...and Wohl was a cook. It was a part of my many duties to aid him in the kitchen."

"I had the same kind of duties," Kettsen agreed, "but I have the film transferred onto the holo-screen, if you want to look at it."

The two Klingon males tried to hide their eagerness, but gave up suppressing their interest after viewing panoramic visuals of the deserts, plains, forests, mountains, and oceans of Earth. K'Eihdan had to admit that it was impressive. _Qo'nos,_ his original home-world, boasted many mountain ranges on it, but the oceans were not nearly as immense as the ones on Earth; and as well, the forests which used to cover the world had been largely harvested. There had been replacement trees grown, but these were still rather young and spindly as opposed to the old growth trees whose enormous sizes once rivaled some of the mountains near which they grew.

"Are these old trees still growing on Earth?" K'Eihdan asked Jorry as a picture came up on the holographic screen-stage of a tree that looked as though it could have been five hundred years old.

"Well...no, not the _really_ old ones, not any more," Kettsen admitted, "they were unfortunately logged for commercial purposes back in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries."

"Arrrrgghh!" K'Eihdan threw back his head and growled.

It was the same thing on just about every inhabited world they had visited. Wherever they went, it seemed that every species made the same mistake: the natural bounty of the land was always over-harvested, creating at best spindly woods where mighty forests once dominated and at worst lifeless plains of dust.

"There has been a major rejuvenation project underway for at least the last two centuries, though," Kettsen informed them, "there are some new "old growth" trees now, and we hope to ensure that more of them survive into the future."

"Yes," K'Eihdan answered him sadly, "We have the same ' _rejuvenation projects'_ happening on our worlds; but it's never the same as the original state, is it?"

Kettsen nodded, smiling wryly. He kept quiet while the Klingon men took in the breath-taking scenery of Earth. When the presentation had finished, K'Eihdan grinned at the old man.

"I think you've tempted me enough, Jorry Kettsen. I'd like to take a break from ' _Empire business,'_ " he whispered conspiratorially, "and explore your world, when we get there. I want to see these oceans and forests and deserts myself."

Kabrech growled at K'Eihdan in warning. The older brother knew that the younger one would very much favor exploration over 'Empire business', but they both knew that disobedience would bring K'Var's wrath upon them. No, it would not do to irritate their commanding officer. K'Eihdan would need to find a way to lure K'Var and Wohl away from the hum-drum world of interplanetary diplomacy and into a wild adventure on Earth.


	3. Welcome to Earth!

3

 _ **Chapter Three: "Welcome to Earth!"**_

K'Eihdan stared in amazement through the glass observation deck at the planet Earth, which was slowly rotating around its axis below them. A large part of it appeared as blue, and that told K'Eihdan that it was indeed a water planet. _Qo'nos_ boasted large oceans, but if what he was seeing was a true representation of the amount of water that comprised the planet, then it dwarfed those of his home planet tenfold.

"This is it, boys," Jorry Kettsen told K'Eihdan and his brother, "This is the Earth. If you want to do some exploring, here are my contact co-ordinates. I will be with my grand-daughter and her mother at my rustic little cabin in the woods...it's located on Kettsen's Hill."

Jorry Kettsen gave them the coordinates on a flash-padd before cautiously showing K'Eihdan and Kabrech a picture of a blonde-haired woman with an equally blonde-haired young girl, who appeared to K'Eihdan to be around the same age as his younger sisters Marl, Br'nkang, and Wohn-Mara. That would place her from between fourteen and sixteen years old. He noticed that Kabrech was staring at the photo of the girl in intense interest. K'Eihdan doubted very much if Kettsen would be particularly accepting of a mate-ship between Kabrech and his grand-daughter, and so he nudged the boy slightly in the shoulder. Kabrech glared at him, embarrassed.

"It's not that I'm interested," the young Klingon growled fiercely at him, "I intend to take K'aabra as my mate when I get back."

K'Eihdan chuckled. K'aabra was a Klingon girl back on Qo'nos who came from a wealthy and powerful family. She was socially far above Kabrech and his Mountain-folk clan, and therefore would never be paired with him. Nonetheless, Kabrech held out hope that K'aabra would one day be his wife—after he had proven himself as The Greatest Warrior in the Universe.

K'Var and Wohl stepped out of their suite and joined the trio.

"Kettsen!" Wohl greeted his former crew-mate, "It has been good to see you again. I will say good-bye now, because it is doubtful that I will be seeing you when we beam down to the planet. I must perform my duties for the Empire."

Kettsen grabbed hold of Wohl's wrinkled hand and shook it.

"I hope your 'duties for the Empire' don't include conquering Earth, Old Friend," Kettsen warned him wryly.

"Not anymore," Wohl muttered sadly, "the Empire has lost its teeth."

"Well, all glory and honor to The Toothless Empire, then," Kettsen remarked, as K'Var scowled.

"Toothless, my eye!" K'Var exclaimed, "We don't need to bully children and old ladies in order to show our glory. We will go to your world and represent the Empire with dignity, Old Man!"

" _An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and the whole world will be blind and toothless_ ," Kettsen returned, no doubt quoting some Terran spiritual prophet, "Good luck, boys! Visit me at the cabin if you can."

Kettsen departed down the passageway, lugging an old satchel with him.

K'Var stared at K'Eihdan suspiciously.

"What...'cabin', K'Eihdan?" the commanding officer asked, "You had better not abandon your duties in order to inebriate yourself, lurching your way around to every tavern on Earth...otherwise you will be spending the return trip in chains, Mountain Man."

"No, by Kahless!" K'Eihdan boomed, "I swear I will be a sober Warrior of the Empire and think only of duty, duty, duty, and dull-as-ditch-water peace conferences!"

K'Var threw his rebellious inferior a dubious look, and pushed him down the passageway after Kettsen.

After they had disembarked from " _Spaceflight 500"_ , they entered the space-port from which they would shuttle to the Earth. Apparently there was to be no travel via transporter beam today as the transportation device was down due to heavy usage and beam-traffic. As far as K'Eihdan was concerned, this was a stroke of luck. He had always hated beam-downs because he did not trust the molecule-scattering technology to deliver him to his destination in one piece. Fortunately, they did not even have to wait, for their shuttle was ready and scheduled to leave right away.

The four men shuffled onto the shuttle, taking their seats awkwardly. The Humans in the craft were all staring at them, evidently intimidated by their mighty presence. Mercifully for all involved, however, the trip did not last long. It landed on Terra Station, Earth's Primary Landing Pad for shuttles. Today was an especially busy day, as representatives from many worlds were here to attend the Conference on Interstellar Peace and Cooperation.

As they stomped off the exit ramp, they looked around themselves, temporarily overwhelmed by the crowds and the pristine marble hall into which they had stepped. This planet was evidently more sophisticated than Qo'nos, and it bewildered Klingon men who were accustomed to stark and spartan military surroundings.

"Commander K'Var!" a voice greeted them.

As they whirled about in surprise, a big Human with a long, white beard walked up to them and shook each of their hands.

"Officers of the Klingon Empire," he stated formally, "Welcome to Earth!"

"When is this conference due to begin?" K'Var asked, without engaging in niceties, "We want to attend it and get on to other business."

"Oh, did the Empire not inform you?" the man asked, his green eyes twinkling merrily, "The Conference will be going on all week long. We've made up a schedule for you based on the issues your government needs to address...there will be a myriad of different lectures and sets of negotiations going on simultaneously in this gathering place."

"We will decide which ones to attend, not you!" K'Var boomed angrily, "We are officers of the Klingon Empire!"

"Yes, I know," the White-Beard replied with a chuckle, "I already addressed you as such. Well, gentlemen, I won't waste your time with the initial tour of the conference grounds, then. I'll escort you to your first set of negotiations—and, believe me, the Empire will be interested in these ones."

K'Var grunted, but followed along with the three others.


	4. Furry-Burry Creatures

4

 _ **Chapter Four: Furry-Burry Creatures**_

The four Klingon men had arrived at an empty briefing room. K'Var was pacing the floor impatiently.

"Is this the White-Beard's idea of a joke?" he fumed, "I grow weary of waiting. What is this great set of negotiations that he thought we would be so enthralled about?"

K'Eihdan shrugged and sat down on one of the chairs. After all, he reasoned, there was no point in becoming angry at an empty room. Wohl decided to join him.

"The walls of this room do not care if you are weary of waiting, K'Var," the old man told him, "We may as well conserve our energy...pacing back and forth will not achieve anything."

"Maybe they intend to imprison us here," Kabrech suggested.

Like K'Var, he was impatient. The two younger men did not have to wait any longer, as it transpired. Before anyone could respond to Kabrech's dire warning, a furred, bear-like being entered the room. He was white, except for a splash of brownish-black fur which covered one of his eyes like a patch. Because of his fur, he wore minimal clothing—a blue loincloth embroidered with gold designs on the edge and a long, matching vest which stopped at his knees. He was accompanied by a Tellarite, a porcine being who was fully clothed down to his knees in a practical brown-and-white uniform. The Tellarite's nose looked as though it had been smashed into his face by the fist of a warrior, but of course K'Eihdan knew that it was simply how the creatures naturally appeared.

"The name's Gyalaar," the furred one introduced himself, "I'm the Triarian Ambassador to Earth; and this is my assistant, Kav Bekkronn of Tellar. We need to reach a deal with the Empire over the fur trade, and we're prepared to compensate you with some technology that we think you might be interested in."

K'Eihdan and Wohl stood up, as K'Var and Kabrech were doing. Sitting down to negotiate with these beings would send the message that they respected and trusted them. Since the Klingon Empire respected and trusted very few non-Klingon beings, the meeting would be conducted standing up. Ambassador Gyalaar, for his part, did not seem any more inclined to take a seat than they did. Kav Bekkronn, however, was another matter. He sat down nearby, setting his comm padd on the table.

"My hooves are killing me," he explained, lifting one of his shoe-less, cloven feet and then letting it clunk to the floor again.

K'Eihdan knew enough about Tellarites to understand that this sitting down as opposed to standing up as everyone else was doing was his way of insulting them in a manner that would not cause them to be overly insulted. Tellarites considered it rude not to start a meeting or introduction with a fine insult; but every Tellarite knew that the Klingons needed to be granted an exception to this rule, if the pig-like beings did not want to end up as pork on a warrior's supper platter.

As for the Triars, K'Eihdan had heard of them but had never met one before. He knew that they were of the ursine family and distantly related to the Tellarites. He also knew that, unlike their cousins the Tellarites, they were pacifists and were therefore looked down upon by Klingons. Even so, it seemed to K'Eihdan that Gyalaar was quite blunt and liked to get down to business without a lot of the flowery preamble that other beings used. That was certainly a mark in his favor as far as the Klingons were concerned.

"What technology is this?" K'Var boomed, trying his best to sound intimidating, "We're not interested in shielding technology that excludes the use of weapons, Peace-Monger."

"Hey, no problem, War Monger," Gyalaar responded evenly, "What did you say your names were?"

K'Var introduced himself and his officers briskly, drawing himself up in order to evoke fear in the bear. The stance was not effective. Gyalaar eyed him calmly, as though he were meeting a Human at a garden party.

"Hi, guys," Gyalaar greeted them in a relaxed and jovial fashion, "yeah, we figured that you wouldn't be interested in our regular shielding tech. We do have, however, a special chameleon technology which allows you to disguise your ship as a moon, an asteroid, or a small planet; and we have a replicator that creates fresh _gagh_ that's better than the real thing. On top of that, we have a warp drive engine that travels at unbelievable speeds, a new planetary shield which does _not_ exclude the use of weapons, and various mining technologies that allow you to extract crystalline substances from the deep core of a planet..."

"And what do you want in exchange for these marvels?" K'Var interrupted the Ambassador gruffly.

"We want you to stop the fur trade on your worlds by embracing the new interplanetary legislation I've been working on for about a century," Gyalaar answered in as blunt a fashion as the Klingon Commander, "We want you to kill the fur trade, in fact...kill _it_ instead of _us_...and when I say 'we', I mean the Alliance of Sentient Furry-Burry Creatures(ASFBC), which includes Triars, Trians, Caitians, Oones, Cyclopians, Ariesians, Bovinians, Andaarans, Trinnians, Marvans, Panthras, Canars, Equinians, Yaap-Woddas, Mopas, Tarandas..."

"All right, we understand—people with fur!" K'Var interrupted furiously, "You don't need to give us the entire Fur-Ball List!"

"We should mention that the Furrry-Burries are supported by the Alliance of Feathered Wings, whose members have similar issues with the aggressive hunter cultures," Kav Bekkronn interjected from his lone place at the table, "and the government of Tellar has finally agreed to support our cousins the Triars in this noble initiative of theirs."

K'Eihdan understood something about the Klingon Fur trade, and he knew that the Fur Traders would never willingly give up their way of life as they had been practicing it for many hundreds of years. When the furred species on their worlds became less numerous, groups of wayward Klingons ventured into space and eventually created a Fur Trade based on the furred creatures from other planets. They were supposed to take only the "animals" as opposed to civilized and sentient beings, but there seemed to be a sliding definition as to what constituted an "animal" and what was considered "sentient" and "civilized". The male Triars were considered fair game and were often hunted and attacked on unprotected colony worlds.

"You know that the Fur Trade is not regulated by the Empire?" K'Eihdan broke into the conversation without having been asked for his opinion, "We could take all your technology and promise you to kill the trade, but we would be lying to you because it would be virtually impossible for us to do so!"

K'Var glared at K'Eihdan, but he knew that the Mountain-Man was telling the truth.

"Yeah, we figured that you would say that," Gyalaar concurred, "but we needed to try anyways. If you folks can adopt this interplanetary anti-fur trade legislation of ours, then that would be an excellent beginning...and, then, of course, we'll arrange for you to gain some of these great technological marvels of ours, which you won't find anywhere else in the galaxy."

"I believe that we _can_ get it elsewhere, through various dealers," K'Var told the Triar, "We do not intend to dance to your tune, Gyalaar, simply because you are playing the music."

"Okay," Gyalaar told them nonchalantly, "Then I guess we'll need to bring it to the main Conference meeting tomorrow. There'll be lots of hoopla, and it will be attended by just about every species from every planet in the galaxy; _and,_ we're going to make some noise...right, Kav?"

"Oh, yes," Kav agreed, "but I don't think these Klingons will care about our noise."

"You're right," K'Var concurred with Kav, "We won't...and we will not be manipulated by shame-and-blame tactics, if that's what you devious pacifists intend to do. Cowards resort to that kind of thing because they're afraid to fight real warriors."

"We're not looking to shame or blame anyone, but we do want to save lives by resolving this thing—especially with the Klingon Empire, because they represent a large portion of the fur-trading trespassers," Gyalaar explained, "and I say 'trespassers' because your guys are trespassing onto our colony worlds, killing our people, and taking their fur..."

"They are not ' _our guys_ ', as you call those misfits," K'Var growled, "Klingon warriors do not swoop down and massacre non-combatants. We kill only those who attempt to kill us."

"Yeah, but there _is_ a market for our fur on _Qo'nos_ and other Klingon-dominated worlds," Gyalaar continued, unperturbed by K'Var's menacing presence, "and you could help us send a message to your government about discouraging that market through this legislation. Many other worlds have adopted it, and we'd like to make it common practice."

"The Klingon government does not involve itself with controlling its peoples' buying preferences!" K'Var nearly spat in derision, "and we do not take on alien legislation as our own!"

K'Eihdan knew that attending diplomatic conferences was not what K'Var wanted to do. There had been increasingly less old-fashioned, 'good-versus-bad' battles for warriors to participate in these days, and so the Commander was deeply frustrated. They had not even been awarded the dignity of their own shuttle to attend this conference, but had instead been obliged to take a passenger vessel. Still, K'Eihdan knew that he could handle these Fur-Balls with his sense of humor, much more effectively than K'Var would with his offended sense of Klingon arrogance. Before he could stop himself, K'Eihdan heard his own mouth open unbidden to utter another opinion.

"That's not actually true, Commander," he informed K'Var, "about the Klingon High Council not involving itself in controlling its peoples' buying preferences. They slap bans and prohibitions on the Mountain clans all the time..."

"Yes—well-deserved _alcohol_ prohibitions, because you and your people have no self-discipline, K'Eihdan!" K'Var barked, furious at his inferior for contradicting him, "and you have just earned yourself a prohibition from attending these talks, you reckless _rugbah_ of the mountains! Kabrech, I am authorizing you to take your _elder brother_ K'Eihdan and put him under your custody. You are in command of him until these ridiculous negotiations are finished!"

"Yes, Commander!" Kabrech replied, eyeing his annoying brother with wicked joy.

The younger boy proceeded to hustle K'Eihdan out of the room with the greatest of zeal.


	5. Kettsen's Hill

5

 _ **Chapter Five: Kettsen's Hill**_

K'Eihdan and Kabrech were on their way to Jorry Kettsen's " _rustic little cabin in_ _the woods_ ". The old man had given K'Eihdan his contact coordinates so that he and his brother could visit, and this seemed to be the perfect opportunity to do so.

K'Eihdan had endured very little trouble in wresting himself away from Kabrech's "command". Before the teen knew it, he was following his older brother to the small mountain that was known as Kettsen's Hill.

"K'Var will have a hemorrhage when he finds out what we've done," Kabrech complained, "and I will never be promoted again in my life."

"Military promotions are over-rated, Little Brother," K'Eihdan told him merrily, "We must use this time which K'Var has kindly granted us to foster friendships with the Earthers. We are providing essential help in the never-ending work of interstellar peace and diplomacy."

Kabrech grunted in a manner which suggested sarcasm, but K'Eihdan ignored him. The pair hiked up the rocky incline with the sun beating down upon their backs. They had long since taken off their heavy uniform jackets and stuffed them into their satchels. They now wore their beige military-issue undershirts, which were suffused with sweat. K'Eihdan was forced to come to the conclusion that he was out of shape, which was terribly embarrassing for a soldier of the Empire.

"You need to go back to basic training, K'Eihdan," Kabrech needled him, "and after K'Var catches us, we will both go if we are fortunate. If we are not, we will be drummed out of the military altogether and thrown in a jail cell."

"You worry too much, Brother!" K'Eihdan said, pausing to catch his breath, "K'Var will not so easily cast away his two best soldiers for simple disciplinary issues."

The men looked at their surroundings for a moment. There was a rocky path up the hill which led into a wooded area full of lush evergreens. The trees were similar to the ones found on their home back in the Kahless Mountains, except for the fact that they were filled with comparatively diminutive birds. They had seen many species of birds and small animals on their journey, most of them furred and smaller than the ones on Qo'nos.

They heard a screech from above, and the pair looked upwards to behold a much larger bird, one that appeared to be a bird of prey. It glided gracefully through the air, no doubt hunting for little mammals. It reminded K'Eihdan of the great raptors which filled the skies back on his home-world. They were bigger than this Earth bird, of course, but size was not as important as skill when hunting; and this creature was obviously well-skilled at the hunt, as they could plainly see while watching it swoop down to snatch a ground-creature in its unrelenting talons.

As the Klingons were admiring the bird, there came the sound of a cracking branch behind them. Kabrech turned first, slapping K'Eihdan on the shoulder when he saw what had just emerged from the trees. K'Eihdan tore his eyes away from the beautiful hunter in the skies and looked in the direction that Kabrech was pointing. To his shock, he saw a large, black mammal. It looked, like the Triars, to be an ursine being; but unlike the Triars, it was evidently an uncivilized creature of the wild.

The two stood still, looking at the thing. K'Eihdan remembered his father's instructions to him when he was a boy on what to do when he met a Great Mountain Bear back on Qo'nos: do not run, but back away slowly if you are unarmed. Drop whatever you are carrying and if possible, climb a tree. Kabrech had been given the same instructions, and so they both dropped their satchels and retreated slowly, backing up until they reached a rather large tree. The bear had paused to inspect the two bags and did not appear to be in a hurry.

K'Eihdan gave Kabrech a leg-up onto the nearest branch, and Kabrech in turn held out his hand and attempted to pull K'Eihdan up onto the branch with him. Kabrech was shorter than his older brother, and had some difficulty pulling him all the way up. K'Eihdan kicked off his boots and socks and protracted the claws on his fingers and feet to help him climb the rest of the way. Kabrech threw off his footwear as well and the pair of them climbed further up the tree. After they had climbed all the way to the top branch, they sat waiting for the bear to leave.

"Some warriors we are," Kabrech grumbled, "at the first sight of a small bear, we take to the trees in terror! Thankfully, no one is here to observe our disgrace."

"There are times, Kabrech, when fighting is just plain stupid," K'Eihdan lectured the adolescent, "and this is one of those times. We were unprepared to meet a large mammal in our travels, and we need to learn from our foolish mistake. Let that be a lesson to you, boy."

"You too, old brother," Kabrech muttered miserably.

They heard the sound of someone's voice ringing out loud and clear, which caused their furred nemesis to run off into the bush.

"It has been startled," K'Eihdan observed, "I saw it run. Someone is coming!"

"Quick!" Kabrech exclaimed, "We must climb down, before anyone sees us up here..."

It was too late. A familiar voice called to them from below:

"Hello! Is that two Klingons I spy up there in that tree?"

"Uh, yes, Jorry Kettsen," K'Eihdan returned the call, embarrassed, "We were just...conducting a survey of the area from up here."

The two men made their way slowly down the tree, their claws digging into the bark as they moved from branch to branch. Finally, they arrived at the lowest branch and jumped down to stand in front of their friend.

"The Earth Bears in this area can climb trees, you know," Kettsen informed them, "If Barney had wanted to get you, he would have done so. It's best to wear bear-bells on your boots so that they can hear you coming and get out of your way."

Kettsen held out his boot to demonstrate, as the little bells chimed a warning.

"Is that bear your pet, then, that you give him a name?" K'Eihdan asked.

"No, he's not a pet," Jorry explained, "I don't believe in making pets of wild animals. My granddaughter calls him 'Barney' because he's well known to us...we can't leave garbage or any food items lying around or Barney will become a pest. That would be deadly for him, as someone would probably shoot him; and so, we do our best to avoid confrontations in order to preserve his life."

"We have very few bears left on Qo'nos," K'Eihdan said wistfully, "and so there are not many encounters. Most of them have been hunted out in our area, but there are a few hardy survivors...Great Warrior Bears, we call them."

"Yeah, it's the same kind of story on Earth," Jorry agreed sadly, "Black Bears are the only surviving species of bear in North America, these days. The Grizzlies and the Polar bears were all wiped out during the last global war. Scientists have been trying to create genetic facsimiles through cloning technology, but it really has not been successful. Once you lose a species, it's pretty much gone for good...although the Triars have helped us to introduce an interplanetary hybrid creature to the Earth, called a Galactic Milk Bear. It's smaller and far less aggressive than our native bears, so unfortunately our people will no doubt try to domesticate it."

Jorry led them back up the path to his cabin. Luckily, the bear had left their satchels where they had dropped them, although the packs had been somewhat torn apart and their energy bars missing. K'Eihdan hoped the bars would strengthen Barney the bear rather than make him ill.

As they neared the top of the hill, they came into a clearing, where a log house awaited them. It reminded K'Eihdan of the kind of houses that people built back home in the Kahless Mountains.

A blonde-haired girl came running out to greet them, followed by a blonde-haired woman who K'Eihdan surmised must be the girl's mother. He noticed that Kabrech drew in a breath, staring at the girl with great interest.

"Hi, Grandpa," she said to Jorry, "These are the Klingons?"

"Yes, Marita," Jorry replied, "This is K'Eihdan and Kabrech, two soldiers of the Klingon Empire."

"Wow!" Marita enthused, "Are you guys really warriors?"

"Yes, we are," Kabrech stated proudly, pulling himself up into a heroic stance.

"Except when we see one of your bears," K'Eihdan joked, "and then we run like cowards."

Marita laughed, while Kabrech glowered at his brother.

"You don't need to be afraid of Barney," she told them, "but don't run if you see him...just give him the trail. He won't bother you as long as you don't bother him."

"We didn't really run," Kabrech explained hastily, "We just...backed away slowly and climbed a tree."

Marita's mother held out her hand to K'Eihdan.

"My name is Lira Kettsen," she introduced herself, "I'm Jorry's daughter. Welcome to our cozy little abode!"

K'Eihdan stared at Lira, as taken by the human woman as Kabrech was by her daughter. He recovered sufficiently in order to respond to her by taking her hand.

"I...uh...hello, Lira," he stammered, "You are beautiful."

K'Eihdan realized with some shame that this was no doubt an inappropriate thing to say among the humans, at least when meeting a female for the first time. He looked at Jorry apologetically, but the human simply smiled.

"Lira and Mari have that effect on the fellas," he quipped, as Lira smacked him on the arm.

"Dad, cut it out!" Lira chided him, "Don't worry, K'Eihdan...Jorry likes to joke, like you. He's told me all about your antics aboard the passenger ship."

"So you know all about our great battles!" K'Eihdan exclaimed, "Kabrech and I are famous for being glorious warriors."

"Shut up, K'Eihdan!" Kabrech growled at him, "I think we've already demonstrated our 'prowess' in battle."

Marita laughed and grabbed Kabrech by the hand, pulling him along into the cabin as the adults followed in a more subdued fashion.


	6. Poisonous Herbs

3

 _ **Chapter Six: Poisonous Herbs**_

The group of Klingons and Humans had just finished supper. K'Eihdan was not sure if he could stomach the herbs that the Humans had put into the meal, but he did not want to show any more weakness than he already had during the bear episode. He was a man with a sense of humor, but he was nonetheless a Klingon; and so, he ate the entire meal without letting on that the herbs on the fowl that had been served were bothering his belly. Kabrech, he noticed, did the smart thing and scraped as much of the herbal sauce off the meat as he possibly could before eating it. In order to please their Human hosts, they had attempted to eat with the cutlery placed before them but had later abandoned the odd eating tools after Jorry gave them permission to eat with their hands in true Klingon fashion.

"Did the sauce we put on the chicken taste bad to you guys?" Marita asked, having noticed their expressions of disgust even with K'Eihdan having done his best to disguise his instinctive reactions.

"Yes," Kabrech told her bluntly, "Since you have asked, I will be honest. The sauce itself is not bad, but these herbs are close to poison."

"So why did you idiots eat it?" Marita asked Kabrech angrily, "You should have told us! I thought Klingons were blunt and straight-forward in their communications with others?"

"Not when it comes to cooking, Marita," K'Eihdan answered, "at least, not in our family. We are from the Kahless Mountains, and if we dared to say anything bad about our mother's cooking, we would be put into the pot ourselves!"

"Really?" Marita gasped, forgetting her ire with regard to the dreadful herbal poison-sauce, "Klingons would do that to their own family members?"

"No," Kabrech told her, "this fool is joking...but just barely. Mostly, our mother cooked the best meals on Qo'nos, but when she did not it was usually when we had put her in a bad mood...I think she did it deliberately, to punish us for our behavior."

"You don't hear much about Klingon families," Lira commented, "it sounds like they aren't that much different from Human ones."

"This is the first time that we've had supper with a Human family," K'Eihdan admitted, "Since we're on your home planet and not our own, we're trying to be well-behaved. We know how you treasure politeness and 'correct' behavior."

"You think humans are polite and well-behaved?" Marita interjected, "Boy, have you got a lot to learn about us!"

"You're more rational than us, though," Kabrech offered, "You're like the Vulcans. You probably think _we're_ too emotional."

"I don't think the Vulcans would be flattered, to be lumped into the same category as Humans," Lira interjected, "my boss is Vulcan, and I think she'd be insulted by the very idea of us being anything like her!"

"Yes," K'Eihdan agreed, "the Vulcans think they're better than the rest of us _rugbahs,_ but they are not the ones leading the way to the stars anymore. It seems to us as though Humans have been taking over that role; and that is why Klingons are wary of you. We do not like anyone else to lead us, but prefer to rely on ourselves. My Commander, K'Var, did not like the idea of coming to a Federation peace conference. I think that he was insulted by the assignment."

"Yes," Kabrech concurred, "We are warriors, not diplomats!"

Their conversation was cut short by a beeping noise. Jorry pressed a button on his wrist-band, and a communication-screen on the wall lit up.

"A transmission from Commander K'Var," droned the home unit.

K'Eihdan and Kabrech bolted for cover.

"Did you two not inform the Commander that you were here?" asked Kettsen, annoyed, "I hope I'm not going to be blasted for allowing you refuge."

"K'Eihdan!" Lira chided him, "You should have told us that you came without permission."

"I...I apologize, Lira...and Jorry," K'Eihdan said, "But K'Var banished us from the negotiations, so we thought we might as well use our free time to explore a bit...we didn't think K'Var would mind."

"K'Eihdan, you get over here and talk to him!" Kettsen ordered, "and you too, Kabrech."

Kabrech bounded over to the comm screen, realizing that he was the one who was supposed to be in charge.

The transmission began, and Wohl's face came up on the screen, to their relief.

"K'Eihdan and Kabrech!" Wohl growled at them, "What is the meaning of this? I thought I'd find you up there in the hills with Jorry Kettsen when I noticed that you were both missing. He gave me his contact coordinates as well, and so I ought to come up there myself and arrest you both!"

"I'm sorry, Wohl," Kettsen apologized, "If I'd have known, I'd have kicked their butts back down the mountain."

"No, it's all right, Kettsen," Wohl reassured the Human, "This is K'Eihdan's fault, and Kabrech's responsibility—since he was supposed to take charge of K'Eihdan."

"Why don't you come up here yourself, Wohl?" K'Eihdan asked the elder, "to arrest us, I mean."

"No, you fool," Wohl told him, "I don't want to end up in chains like the pair of you _rugbahs_."

There was a swooshing sound behind Wohl, one which evoked terror in the hearts of K'Eihdan and Kabrech. Wohl was about to end the transmission, but they heard K'Var's voice bark an order to the elder before he could do so.

"Wohl! Keep those rugbahs where they are for now. We need to conduct a serious investigation on behalf of the Empire—some fool has gone and put poison in the meals of Ambassador Gyalaar and his aide Kav."


	7. Suspicions

4

 _ **Chapter Seven: Suspicions**_

K'Eihdan and Kabrech had spent a restless night at Jorry Kettsen's cabin on the hill. K'Eihdan hated to simply enjoy a holiday while K'Var and Wohl were up to their necks in an investigation for the Empire. K'Var had not said whether or not Gyalaar and Kav had survived the poisoning, but he hoped that they were still alive. Even though he had met the pair only briefly, he had liked them both. He had sensed in Gyalaar a warrior's spirit, not in the sense of one who participated in military battles but instead one who took a stand against injustice. As a person born into what was considered on Qo'nos as a "peasant" class, he appreciated that.

K'Eihdan had awakened and dressed at dawn, pulling on his uniform trousers and undershirt and going out to observe the rising of the sun on this world. Whenever he was at home in the mountains back on Qo'nos, he did the same thing. He liked to quiet his mind and spend a minute in contemplation, before the day began to hit him over the head with its continual demands.

He had only been sitting on the porch of the cabin for a few minutes when Jorry Kettsen joined him.

"I just received another communication from K'Var," Jorry told him, "he says that the Triarian Ambassador and his aide will survive. They're in the hospital recovering."

"That is good news," K'Eihdan replied, "I did not want them to die in such a fashion...especially since people will no doubt suspect that Klingons had something to do with this cowardly murder attempt."

"K'Eihdan," Jorry told him, "I wonder if you and Kabrech should go back. I know K'Var told you to stay out of his way, but what if people think that you and Kabrech did it—seeing as how you left at around the same time that the two diplomats were poisoned?"

"But that's impossible," K'Eihdan answered, "We were here being poisoned by you while Gyalaar and Kav were eating their dinner."

"I know, but it still looks suspicious; and I don't want anyone around here thinking that I'm harboring criminals. I'm sorry, K'Eihdan, but I think it would be better if you and Kabrech left after breakfast."

"You're right, Jorry," K'Eihdan concurred, "Kabrech and I will leave, but where should we go? K'Var doesn't want to deal with us right now."

"Why don't I go with you to the hospital to visit Gyalaar and Kav?" Kettsen suggested, "I have met Gyalaar before at various conferences, so I know him. Maybe he and Kav will have some idea of who did this to them, and it would demonstrate to anyone who was wondering about it that you two are not involved in the poisoning."

"Yes, Jorry," K'Eihdan countered, "but what if it shows the opposite—that Kabrech and I and you are visiting the two diplomats in order to finish the job?"

Kettsen slapped his own forehead with his hand.

"Let's not complicate it," he responded, "we don't even know yet whether anyone has even thought about what we just said. Look, K'Eihdan, I'd like to leave fairly soon. Marita will be disappointed, but I think it's better if we go sooner rather than later. Besides, I'd like to see Gyalaar and encourage him in his recovery."

K'Eihdan nodded his agreement, and stood up in order to leave. Kabrech joined them, and the trio ate a hasty breakfast before making their way back down Kettsen's Hill. Jorry had told his daughter Lira what they were doing, but they had not awakened Marita. Lira would tell her later on that the two Klingons had departed.

"Marita will not be pleased that we have left," Kabrech commented, "she wanted to interview me for a project that she was doing for her school."

"She's Human, Kabrech," K'Eihdan muttered to the boy, "you know that she couldn't handle a Klingon mate...and Jorry would kill you."

"Do you think me a fool, K'Eihdan?" Kabrech growled, "You think that I would do such a thing to our host's daughter?"

"No, I don't think you a fool, I think you an adolescent," K'Eihdan returned, "and I remember what that was like."

Kabrech bared his teeth in irritation at his older brother's comment.

"I am a man," he muttered.

"Not yet," K'Eihdan muttered back.

The trio hiked over to the nearest monorail and boarded the train. It would take them to Terra City, where the Inter-Species Exchange ran a hospital which specialized in extra-terrestrial medicine. The journey was short, and the train let them off at a station which was next to the hospital.

They encountered no trouble entering the hospital; but when Jorry asked at the reception desk for permission to enter the healing suite of Ambassador Gyalaar and his assistant Kav Bekkronn, the administrative attendant frowned.

"Are you a family member or close colleague of either Ambassador Gyalaar or his aide Kav?" she asked.

"Well...last time I checked I had neither fur on my body nor hooves on my feet; and therefore I can't very well be a family member of theirs. I do know Ambassador Gyalaar from having attended a number of interstellar peace conferences, though," Jorry explained, "so I am a colleague of his, in a way. I'm a friend, and I am very concerned about what has taken place..."

"I'm sorry, Sir," the attendant interrupted him crisply, "but there's a restriction notice here stating that only those with special security clearance can access the Ambassadorial healing suite."

"Oh," Jorry replied, disappointed.

K'Eihdan and Kabrech stood mutely on either side of him, not wanting to make things worse by opening their mouths. They turned away from the desk, but were confronted by a burly, red-haired security guard wearing a black uniform.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," she told them politely, "but I would like to ask the Klingon visitors a few questions, if you don't mind."

"We are delegates attending this peace conference," K'Eihdan replied before she could ask any questions, "We are under the command of K'Var."

"Yes," the guard responded, "I know. The Chief of Security spoke with Commander K'Var and his aide, Wohl; and they told him that you and your brother disappeared a short time after the two diplomats were poisoned."

"A short time _before,"_ K'Eihdan corrected her, "We had nothing to do with the poisoning...we had just gone to visit Jorry Kettsen here, since K'Var had given us a bit of time off."

"K'Var said that he banned you from attending the talks due to some disciplinary issues," the guard continued, unimpressed with K'Eihdan's alibi, "and then, shortly after, you disappeared. You could have gone anywhere during that time...and are you Jorry Kettsen, Sir?"

K'Eihdan realized that he may have inadvertently cast suspicion upon Kettsen when he spoke his name. Kettsen remained unfazed by the attention, however.

"Yes, I'm Kettsen, and I can tell you absolutely that neither of these gentlemen was involved in this sordid affair. I had invited them to come up to my cabin a couple of days ago when I met them aboard the passenger vessel in which I work as Chief of Maintenance Staff—the _Spaceflight 500_ run. They were visiting with me and my family while I was on leave at my home on Kettsen's Hill in Preston County, New Terra State. They were having supper with us while this attempted murder was occurring. I can give you our security feed documenting their time with us."

"Yes," the guard persisted, "but these gentlemen had a motive, and they could have been working with others who shared that motive. There are many groups, including the Klingons, who want to stop Gyalaar from criminalizing the galactic fur trade. According to our records Mr. K'Eihdan and Mr. Kabrech are from a rural area on Qo'nos known as the Kahless Mountains, which we understand is a traditional hunting ground for Klingons. That means that they might very well be involved in the fur trade."

K'Eihdan fought to keep his anger in check. The Human guard was taking a leap across a chasm of cavernous proportions in linking the Mountain People on Qo'nos to the galactic fur trade!

"I see," he growled, "We are from a poor, rural area and therefore we are common criminals!"

"We are honest people!" Kabrech concurred, breaking his silence in order to support his elder brother, "We may not be as wealthy as those on this planet, but we are steadfast in our honor! We would never involve ourselves in such a cowardly plot as the one that those failed Fur-Ball Murderers did."

"It's not really the Klingon way to poison people," Kettsen interjected, hoping to stop the brothers from getting themselves into even more trouble, "I spent two years as a janitor aboard a Klingon vessel, the _Kah-Dok_ , when I was a teenager and I can tell you that the Klingons are always very direct in their aggression."

"You worked with the Klingons?" the guard asked, her suspicions aroused, "Well, then, gentlemen, I'd like to ask all three of you to come with me to the Crime Investigations Office. The Chief of Security will want to clarify a few things with you."

K'Eihdan and Kettsen stared at each other in chagrin before the three of them followed the security guard out of the hospital and into her waiting hover-craft.


	8. Commander Kettsen

2

 _ **Chapter Eight: Commander Kettsen**_

K'Eihdan, Kettsen, and Kabrech were seated in a small interrogation room, where the Chief of Security had been peppering them with question after question about their possible involvement in the crime.

"Listen, we've told you all we know!" Kettsen finally exploded, after what seemed like the one hundredth question, "My friends and I were not involved in this. We came to visit the Ambassador and his Aide because we were concerned about their welfare. You seem to assume that because these two gentlemen are Klingons that they must be involved in this act of treachery...but I've told you that Klingons do not work that way. They do battle directly and honestly. They are warriors!"

"Hmm," the Chief replied laconically, "somehow, I'm not convinced. You must understand how suspicious it looks for your friends to have run up to your place at around the same time that the attempted murders took place?"

"But we took off _before_ the coward did his dirty work, not after!" K'Eihdan explained to the man, "We only wanted to see something of the Earth and visit Jorry Kettsen. We are simple people, and we do not get opportunities to leave our duties behind very often...Klingons do not normally take vacations as other beings do. K'Var became weary of my insubordination, and so he let my younger brother mind me. Of course, I quickly convinced Kabrech to join me in the wild woods because it was so much more interesting than attending a dull conference on interplanetary peace."

"Well," the Chief replied, "I suppose I haven't got enough evidence to keep you detained...but if you'd like to help us in the investigation, I would be more inclined to look towards you favorably."

"We will do all we can to bring the true criminals to justice!" K'Eihdan answered eagerly, "Tell us what we must do!"

"If anyone approaches you with regard to the galactic fur trade, we'd like it if you could let us know," the Chief told them, "this fur trade in sentient beings has been outlawed for centuries among the civilized worlds, and so if anyone is known to be trading in these furs, we would have cause to arrest them on the spot."

"Is that all we can do?" K'Eihdan asked, disappointed, "wait until some fool approaches us before we can take action?"

"We have this investigation well in hand," the Chief assured him, "If you could keep us updated on anything that you or your superiors have learned, we would appreciate it."

"Will do," Kettsen interjected, shaking the Chief's hand, "May we go then?"

"Yes," the Chief agreed, "but just know that we will be watching you."

The trio left the Crime Investigations Office gratefully. As they walked down the steps, a familiar presence loomed in front of them.

"K'Eihdan!" K'Var snarled angrily, slapping him to the ground, "You have disobeyed orders for the last time. Since it seems that the Chief of Security did not arrest you, I am doing so instead. I am handing you over to Jorry Kettsen, and you are to work for him as his slave. The humiliation of being in an inferior position to a Human will be better punishment than any I can give you. Kabrech, since you failed in your duty, you will join K'Eihdan in his disgrace. Kettsen—can you take command of them and find some work for these _rugbahs_ to do?"

"Oh, you bet I can, K'Var!" Kettsen replied, looking at the duo with mischief in his eyes, "I've got lots of work back at the cabin—I'm building an addition on the place and could use a bit of free labor."

"Very well," K'Var agreed, "Make them work hard and treat them like dirt. Give them only the most basic food and water. Force them to dress up as clowns and entertain your children. Meanwhile, Wohl and I will be attending this stupid conference and trying to do what we can to move the investigation into the poisonings forward. So far, we have been coming up with nothing."

Kettsen nodded as Wohl approached the group cautiously.

"Commander K'Var," the elderly Klingon said, saluting his young superior, "Ambassador Gyalaar has made a recovery and will be leaving the hospital soon. His aide Kav is taking a bit longer to heal and will need to stay longer. Gyalaar wishes to meet us in order to tell us about a possible suspect in the poisoning."

"Very well," K'Var responded, "Let us meet him at the hospital. If he knows who might have done this, I want to make sure that this coward feels the wrath of the Empire. I want no one suspecting Klingons of such underhanded treachery."

K'Var and Wohl marched off as abruptly as they had appeared, leaving K'Eihdan and Kabrech in the care of their new commander, Jorry Kettsen.


	9. A Dishonorable Criminal

5

 _ **Chapter Nine: A Dishonorable Criminal**_

K'Eihdan and Kabrech had been working on Jorry's building project for the past twelve hours. They had refused all offers of food or "taking a break", as the Humans called it. They had accepted water, but only in order to keep from becoming dehydrated. Jorry's granddaughter Marita stared up at them irritably as she held an empty water jug.

"Can't you guys take a little longer to drink your water?" she protested, "I mean, you come down here, gulp it down, and go right back up to build. If you don't slow down, you'll have the whole addition finished in one day! Then what will you do?"

"Your grandfather says that he has some more work for us—bushes to clear, in certain areas around the property," K'Eihdan explained dutifully, "We've been ordered by our commander to obey Kettsen's every whim. If we run out of work, the next duty will entail dressing up like clowns and putting on a show for you and your mother."

"That's silly," Marita scoffed, "I don't want you to do that, and neither does Mom. I thought you guys wanted to have a wild adventure?"

"We should never have come up here to Jorry's cabin in the first place, Marita," Kabrech explained as he set a beam of wood in place, "the fault is mine for allowing K'Eihdan to talk me into it. Now I have failed in my first command position, and I will likely be reaping the consequences of that mistake for years."

"Oh, why don't you leave the Klingon army, or whatever it is you call it?" Marita asked him, "It sounds joyless and boring."

"I must serve my world," Kabrech informed her briskly, "I have duties..."

"Oh, duty-schmooty," Marita murmured as she left the industrious pair.

"...and besides," Kabrech muttered, more to himself than to anyone else, "with my latest disgrace, it seems I will never have the chance to prove myself a true warrior and marry K'aabra."

K'Eihdan smiled to himself. The elusive K'aabra remained out of Kabrech's reach back on Qo'nos, but the Human girl Marita no doubt constantly reminded the young male of her. She had been trying to coax Kabrech into coming down and spending time with her for the past few hours. He could tell that Kabrech was weakening, but he knew that he must not push the youngster into any more disobedience than that with which he had already been tempted. As simple mountain people, he and Kabrech were hardly strangers to long hours of toil; but he wished that the young man could experience something other than the dullness of duty before he grew old.

As the sun descended beneath the hills, Jorry finally ambled out to order a halt to their work.

"Okay, guys, that's enough," Jorry told them, "You're better than a whole team of Human workers...and skilled in building, too. We'll have this thing done in no time, and you can go exploring at last."

"No, Jorry," Kabrech told him, jumping down from the as-yet-unfinished frame, "We'll get into trouble if we do that."

"No, you won't," Jorry explained, "because I'm ordering you to go exploring. I thought it would be more beneficial than dressing you up like clowns...and Marita and Lira have both said they don't want to see you do that."

"Blast!" K'Eihdan exclaimed, "I was hoping to perform my classic clown act for them...the one I do for my family back in the Kahless Mountains territory."

"Well, of course you can if you want to," Jorry agreed, "we're honored if you consider us as your family."

"Don't include me in your act," Kabrech grumbled as they followed Jorry back to the main cabin.

The two Klingon laborers were given the meat of some unknown Earth animal, this time with no extra herbs or spices. Jorry called the meat "venison" and it tasted vaguely like the meat of a Five-Horned Mountain Buck native to Qo'nos. Regardless of the meat's taste K'Eihdan and Kabrech shoveled it into their mouths hungrily, using their hands as was the Klingon custom. They had not eaten since breakfast at the crack of dawn and they were both ravenous. The Kettsen family supplied them with several slabs of meat, a hearty helping of some green and orange vegetables, and endless slices of Earth bread. It was not really what they were used to, but at the moment they cared little.

Jorry, Lira, and Marita ate more slowly than their guests. As Kabrech and K'Eihdan sat licking their fingers, Marita decided that she was going to throw down her utensils and emulate them. She took a piece of meat with her fingers and began to chew on it, glancing slyly at Kabrech.

Kabrech frowned.

"You should not be using your fingers like us, Marita," he chided her, "Human females must be dainty and proper."

"Dainty and proper!" Marita exploded amidst laughter, "What do you think this is, the nineteenth century? You have a lot to learn about Humans, Kab!"

"My name is Kabrech," the boy corrected her, "Klingons do not shorten their names...and I think _you_ have a lot to learn about being a proper Human."

"Oh, so now I have a Klingon boy lecturing me on the importance of Human propriety?" Marita scoffed, "Give me a break... _Kabrech_!"

"I am _not_ a boy...I am a man!" Kabrech protested.

"Not yet, Kabrech," K'Eihdan replied, amused.

"Go dress like a clown and entertain the Humans, K'Eihdan!" Kabrech retorted.

Before K'Eihdan could consider what it was that he would do for an act, there was a rapping at the door. Jorry left the table and went to see who it was that was calling in on them so late.

To K'Eihdan's surprise, the Human returned with a blue Andorian. The being's antennae were writhing around on his head anxiously as he took in the sight of the two Klingons.

"This guy says that he has business with you, K'Eihdan," Jorry announced, puzzled, "His name is An'Kel Th'Zaak. Do you know him?"

K'Eihdan stared at the creature in surprise. He had never even met an Andorian up close before, let alone having business with one.

"What do you want with us, Blue One?" K'Eihdan asked good-naturedly, "I know that I have nothing that I wish to buy from you."

"I am called Kel," the Andorian reported, "and I am not here to sell you anything. I am here to receive my orders from you."

"Orders?" K'Eihdan echoed, confused, "I have no orders for you, unless you are planning on joining our crew. I must warn you, though, we are all ship-less at present. The Empire sent us to Earth on a passenger vessel...probably as an insult to us because we are poor _rugbahs._ "

"Yes," Kel replied, "I know. You are the fur traders, and I have been sent here to aid you so that certain people on Andoria can receive a portion of your bounty."

Jorry stared at Kel in shock; but K'Eihdan could not believe their luck. Had the would-be killer of Gyalaar and Kav actually stumbled upon them thinking that they were traders of Triarian fur? He decided to play along, giving Jorry a furtive glance that he hoped would communicate his intention to fool Kel into continuing in his false belief about them.

"Oh, yes, the bounty!" K'Eihdan responded knowingly, "So you are the one that we are supposed to meet in order to...sell you a portion of our bounty?"

Marita's mother Lira was staring at the pair, obviously horrified.

"K'Eihdan!" she exclaimed, "Surely you aren't involved in that...shamefully murderous fur trade?"

"Oh...no, no, of course not," K'Eihdan told her truthfully, trying to pretend that he was lying in order to convince Kel, "I just...uh...well, I'm just going to sell Kel some bear fur...from a bear, that is, not from a sentient Triar at all."

Kel stared at the Klingons, and his eyes suddenly narrowed in suspicion.

"You _are_ the people who went to the hospital the other day to finish the job on Gyalaar and Kav?" he asked, "Because if you're not, I might have to kill you."

Jorry hastily decided to get in on the act.

"You better believe we're the people!" he crowed, "We almost succeeded in getting to them, but not quite. We've escaped here in order to come up with a better plan."

"Dad..." Lira interjected anxiously, "don't tell me that you're involved in this?!"

"Why, sure, Honey," Jorry told her, blinking one of his eyes up and down in order to signal to her what they were attempting to do, "Why don't you and Marita go upstairs and read your novels? This is strictly boring fur business."

Marita understood perfectly well what they were trying to do and seemed to want to be a part of the ruse as well.

"Novels?" she scoffed, "I want in on the action if we're going to go kill some bears!"

"Nobody's killing anyone!" Lira shouted angrily, "Mr. Kel, I will ask you to kindly get out of our home."

"I'm afraid that I can't do that, Madam," Kel told her, bringing out a phaser and pointing it at them, "If I have erred in my assumption that these three are the traders, then unfortunately all of you must meet your demise tonight."

"You do that and I'll have my fellow fur traders skin you alive," Kettsen growled at the now-unwelcome visitor, "You have not erred in your assumptions, but my daughter and granddaughter are to be left out of this. Do you understand? Because if you do not, you must know that I have already contacted my group. They will have you slaughtered if you kill any of my family members."

If Kel was bothered by Kettsen's threat, he did not show it.

"Hmm," the Andorian responded, "I have my reservations about this, but I suppose it is my own fault for making the assumption in the first place. Very well, I will not kill any of you, but I require you to prove yourselves. You will all aid me in disrupting Gyalaar's attempts to discredit the fur trade, and the two women will accompany us. I do not want to let them out of my sight now that I know that the older one does not agree with our stance. You should know, Madam, that I will drop your father and his associates in the blink of an eye if you do anything to alert the authorities as to our intentions...and please remember, Andorian phasers have only a 'kill' setting."

"Don't worry," Lira replied gruffly, "I won't do anything to jeopardize 'the mission'."

Kel gestured towards the door with his fully loaded phaser. K'Eihdan led the other four outside, pretending with all his might to inhabit the role of a dishonorable criminal.


	10. The Catamount

3

 _ **Chapter Ten: The Catamount**_

An'Kel Th'Zaak, the Andorian who was also known colloquially as Kel, herded the five would-be accomplices through the woods at night. He had not brought any lighting and it was very dark. They stumbled along blindly, doubting Kel's competence more with every misstep.

"Why don't we kill the assassin now?" Kabrech whispered to K'Eihdan in the Klingon language, "Before the authorities arrest us for keeping company with this fool!"

"No," K'Eihdan cautioned his brother, "we need to keep him within our sights for now, so that he can show us where these other fur traders are...then we will fight, and bring them to justice."

Kabrech grunted, as though he did not quite have enough faith in K'Eihdan's intelligence to treat him as a wise elder brother.

Kel whistled at them, a high-pitched, piercing sound.

"Do not assume that I cannot understand Klingon," he warned them, "I am not nearly as stupid as you people think I am."

"Then why are we stumbling around in the dark getting lost?" Marita asked him irritably, "I don't think you know where we're going."

"No, but your father does, Dearling," Kel responded to the young girl in a patronizing tone, "Blame him for getting us lost."

Jorry Kettsen did not reply, but rather continued to lead them through the darkness. They had not gone far before they heard a blood-curdling, yowling sound.

"What is that?" Kel asked, evidently startled, "Is it one of those bears you spoke about?"

Jorry halted, putting his hand up in warning.

"No," he said, "It's a catamount...a large feline that can be very dangerous. Whatever you do, make sure you don't run."

"Why not?" Kel asked, "It seems to me that getting out of here would be a good idea."

"As long as it doesn't get the idea that we're prey," Kettsen explained, "They normally don't bother Humans, but there have been a couple of young cats roaming around the area lately. If we see one, we have to stand our ground and try to make ourselves as large and as confidently loud as we can. Pick up sticks, rocks, anything you can find that will help you seem like more of a threat and less like a potential meal running for its life."

"We Klingons will have no problem doing that!" K'Eihdan interjected excitedly, "Perhaps we can hunt the creature for you and kill it with our bare hands."

"No," Jorry told them firmly, "Don't do anything to threaten it...don't go after it, but don't back down either, if we see it. We probably won't, though. It's very rare for Humans and catamounts to have encounters with each other, as the big cats try to stay as far away from us as possible."

"Rare for Humans..." Kel mused, "And what about Andorians?"

"Stick with us and you'll be all right, Kel," Marita reassured him, "Just make sure you don't shoot us right now or you'll lose your protection."

"I didn't realize that Earth was so dangerous," the Andorian replied, "I thought it was a tame, peaceful planet."

"Ha!" Marita scoffed, "You came to the wrong world if you're looking for safety!"

There was a sound directly in front of them. Jorry Kettsen picked up a stick and lit it with some matches that he had tucked away in his shirt.

"Make noise," he ordered them, "Not too loud, just sound confident."

The Klingons and Humans sounded out to the creature as boldly as they dared while Kel remained silent.

"Hey there!" Jorry called out, "We have the Fire-Stick, Mr. Catamount!"

"R-r-r-rargh!" K'Eihdan growled, with Kabrech joining in on the snarling chorus.

It was difficult to see anything, but K'Eihdan thought he saw a form crouching in the shadows. Lira and Marita both held rocks in their hands while Kel seemed to be frozen in terror, even with the deadly phaser in his hand. It was becoming apparent to them that fearsome Kel was little more than a coward.

"Back off ever so slowly," Kettsen commanded them, "Don't turn your back on him. Stay calm—no fear."

"You don't need to tell Klingons to have no fear!" Kabrech gloated, "We are like rock-men."

Nonetheless, they all obeyed Jorry's instructions, backing away slowly while maintaining an air of authority and confidence as they went. There was a rustle in the bushes. K'Eihdan was fairly sure that the feline creature had determined that they were not easy prey and had bolted away. He was almost disappointed that he and Kabrech had not been given a chance to practice their hunting skills; but he also knew that the peril which they faced had nothing to do with the catamount. As his father Kadaar used to say, _there is nothing quite so dangerous as a coward armed with a weapon._

After they had gone as far away from the vicinity as they were able, Jorry Kettsen took advantage of his new authority to order a halt to their nocturnal wanderings.

"We need to stop for the night," he told them assertively, "I will build a fire and keep guard. The rest of you, find some pine branches and make a bed for yourselves. We'll just become more and more lost if we stumble around here anymore tonight."

Kel evidently was in no mood for arguing with Jorry. He acquiesced, and joined the two women in gathering pine branches while Jorry kindled a fire with the matches and whatever twigs and leaves that the two Klingons could find for him. K'Eihdan and Kabrech declined to go to sleep but instead joined Jorry in his night-time watch. They were well aware that the catamount had given them the perfect opportunity to overpower Kel and snatch his weapon away from him.


	11. Hunting and Gathering

4

 _ **Chapter Eleven: Hunting and Gathering**_

Kel remained awake, staring at the three of them from his makeshift bed of pine branches. Evidently, the coward was no fool and was holding onto his phaser as though it were the only thing between himself and death...as perhaps it was.

They remained that way throughout the night, staring at Kel while Kel stared back. Their mutual mistrust hung heavy in the night air and continued until dawn broke. The ashes of last night's fire still carried embers, and so Jorry busied himself in resurrecting the flames. As the first rays of sunlight fell, K'Eihdan decided that it was time for himself and Kabrech to go hunting for their breakfast.

"We will need to eat, Kel," K'Eihdan announced, "and so let us two hunters go off and bring you some bounty. We can catch prey with our teeth and claws alone...we evolved from purely carnivorous creatures."

"I have no doubt," Kel replied, "Very well, K'Eihdan. You and Kabrech go, but remember that I am still holding the gun and it is pointed at Kettsen's head."

"I want to go too!" Marita exclaimed, hopping off of her bed of branches, "I'd like to see Kabrech and K'Eihdan hunt."

Kabrech eyed Marita, looking as though he was pleased at her interest in his skills.

"No, you will not go, Marita!" Kel objected, "You will stay here because you are the most important hostage—what with your youth and beauty."

"Why, Kel, I didn't know you cared!" Marita retorted sarcastically.

"I don't," Kel told her menacingly, "I care only about getting the job done and getting off this tree-infested ball of rock and water."

Jorry gestured for Marita to be quiet and obey Kel's order, which she did only very reluctantly.

"Why do the Klingons get to have all the fun?" she grumbled as the two hunters stalked off swiftly.

They went as far as they could away from the campsite before pausing to confer with one another.

"I say we should have jumped Kel last night and taken him prisoner!" Kabrech opined, keeping his voice as low as he could to avoid being detected by the keen hearing of the Andorian, "He is weak and we could easily have overpowered him!"

K'Eihdan shook his head.

"I wanted to do the same thing, brother," he replied, "but you need to remember that Kettsen is now our commander. K'Var made us his slaves, and right now Jorry is bidding us to wait. Justice will be ours, but at the right time and place."

Kabrech growled in impatience. In the trees above, a group of scampering, brownish-grey tree rodents chirped at them saucily.

"Let me see if I can outwit those tree-mice up there," Kabrech told him, kicking off his boots to expose his clawed feet, "since we aren't well equipped to take on the catamount yet—maybe after we kill the simpering Kel we can find the big cat."

"Many of these species are protected by laws," K'Eihdan called after his younger sibling as the boy vaulted onto the trunk of a deciduous tree and protracted his claws to help him climb it, "Jorry told me that many of the big cats have gone extinct—much like on Qo'nos."

K'Eihdan did not join his brother in the tree but instead watched, laughing as the "tree mice" waved their bushy tails and sprang easily out of his way and onto the branches of neighboring trees. Kabrech was not nearly so agile, and he almost fell a couple of times.

"Come down here, Kabrech," K'Eihdan ordered him, "Before you kill yourself instead of Kel or the tree-mice. Admit defeat, brother—the little ones have outwitted you."

Kabrech let out a yowl to rival that of last night's catamount.

"We'll set some traps," K'Eihdan told him, bringing a ball of Yark-hair twine out of his jacket pocket, "it's easier."

Kabrech grumbled irritably as he descended the tree. K'Eihdan set his Yark-hair traps, but he had nothing to bait them with. He began to search for a certain type of berry that Jorry had shown him earlier, called a wild blueberry.

"We can't sit around here waiting for these," Kabrech told him, pointing at the makeshift trap, "and Klingons do not search for berries, brother!"

"Why not?" K'Eihdan challenged him, "they taste good, and they're food. And I'm famished. Besides, Jorry told me that the bears like to eat berries. If we look for them, we may find a bear...like Jorry's creature, named Barney."

"Marita will kill us if we bring Barney down," Kabrech told him, "Not that we're terribly well equipped to kill large animals anyways."

The two brothers searched for whatever berries they could find, which turned out to be mostly brambles. Jorry had explained to them which berries were poisonous and which were edible, and K'Eihdan had been an attentive learner. He had learned how to forage for food early on in his life on the home mountain, and he had known not to discount the fruits and vegetation that had grown in his area. Meat had not always been readily available to them, and so the poor peasants on Qo'nos had become omnivores whether they had wanted to or not.

Insects were also an important food item for them, and so K'Eihdan and Kabrech were able to rout out many delicious grubs underneath logs and rocks. Because they knew that Humans were quite adverse to eating insects and their larvae, the pair simply ate the grubs and collected the berries for the benefit of the Humans...and hoped that they would agree with Kel's tastes as well.

After they had collected an acceptable number of berries, using K'Eihdan's jacket as a basket, the older man returned to check on his trap. To his chagrin, he found a dark-haired Human female in an official-looking uniform undoing his handiwork.

"I'm Ranger Katrina Van Zandt," she introduced herself, "Are you the one who set this trap? If so, you need to know that I'm confiscating it. Traps of this kind are no longer legal on Earth. The animals that get trapped in them can take hours and hours to die, which means that they're not humane hunting tools."

"I'm Klingon," K'Eihdan told her, "We don't have those kinds of rules on Qo'nos...however, we apologize for our ignorance of your laws."

"Ignorance of the law is no excuse," Ranger Van Zandt replied, "I could bring you in and require you to take a course in wildlife law, but I doubt if you'll be staying that long on Earth; and so, I'll let you off with a warning _this time_. Don't let it happen again...and just so you're aware, no hunting in this area, either."

"Yes...thank you," K'Eihdan answered rather awkwardly, attempting to follow the stilted Earth custom of "courtesy", "We have collected only a few berries as our bounty...and, we have eaten some of your insects. Is there a law against hunting insects here?"

"No," Van Zandt replied, surprised, "You can eat as many of our insects as you like...especially the mosquitoes and black flies."

K'Eihdan and Kabrech nodded and hastily resumed their journey back to the campsite.

"They should have a law protecting the insects as well," Kabrech grumbled in an ironic tone, "why do Humans have compassion for mammals but not for the tiny creatures?"

K'Eihdan simply shrugged. He was at a loss when it came to defending Earth policies. At the present time, his goal was to get back to Jorry and his family to make sure that they were unharmed.

By the time they returned to the site, however, it appeared that Kel and their friends were gone.


	12. Stop the Fur Trade!

5

 _ **Chapter Twelve: "Stop the Fur Trade!"**_

K'Eihdan and Kabrech managed to track down Ranger Katrina Van Zandt and ask her for directions to Terra City, where the Conference on Interstellar Peace and Cooperation was being held. K'Eihdan was certain their friends were being taken to the conference by Kel in order to "disrupt" whatever the Triarian Ambassador Gyalaar was planning to do there.

"There's a shuttle going to Terra City from the Rangers' office," Van Zandt told them, "If you follow me, I'll take you to it."

After a brisk hike down the mountain, Van Zandt escorted the two Klingons onto a hover-shuttle full of tourists and would-be conference-goers. The group of Humans and Vulcans appeared fascinated by the two Klingons, but no one was bold enough to begin a conversation with them. From K'Eihdan's point of view, it was just as well. He did not want to answer a lot of silly questions right now.

"How can you be sure Kel is taking them to the city?" Kabrech asked his brother quietly in Klingon, "Would it not make more sense for them to stay away from crowds?"

"No, brother, Kel himself said he wanted us to help him disrupt Gyalaar's attempts to discredit the fur trade," K'Eihdan explained, "That means, I believe, that he will try to kill the Triarian ambassador."

K'Eihdan's attention turned suddenly from explaining his reasoning to reading a placard that one of the Humans was carrying. It said in bold, black letters:

" **Stop the Fur Trade in Sentient Beings! Stop the criminal misuse of All Beings!"**

"Where are you demonstrating?" K'Eihdan asked the woman who was holding the sign.

The woman looked somewhat taken aback, but she recovered sufficiently to respond, "We're demonstrating at the Peace Conference, in support of Ambassador Gyalaar's initiative. He's leading a protest about the fur trade, which will be initiated when he gives a presentation on the trade and how it affects the furred beings in the galaxy. He hopes to get the Federation to adopt a series of interplanetary laws that will help us to end the fur trade in sentient beings...for good."

There was an uncomfortable silence, as no one wanted to ask the Klingons which side they were on.

"Why in the name of Kahless did Kel take off without us?" Kabrech wondered aloud in the Klingon mountain dialect, "Surely, with his lack of courage and stamina, he would need the aid of two Klingon warriors for his intended act of violence?"

"Maybe he thought that we would attract too much attention," K'Eihdan suggested, "or maybe he saw the Ranger and mistook her for a security officer."

Kabrech shook his head, unconvinced by those explanations. K'Eihdan gestured to him to be quiet as the hover-shuttle arrived at its destination. They followed the group of people who were carrying signs, as they were the most likely ones to lead them to Gyalaar.

"We need to try to find K'Var," Kabrech whispered, "He will not want us to act on our own."

"Shut up, Kabrech!" K'Eihdan growled, "If we run off looking for our Commander, we'll lose the opportunity to stop Kel before he acts. Besides, Jorry is our commander for now. Our duty is with him."

Kabrech grunted doubtfully, but continued to obey his older brother's orders. K'Eihdan knew his plan was far from certain, but at the moment it was their best option.

As they neared the crowd, they heard a voice speaking about the fur trade, and realized that this was indeed Gyalaar. K'Eihdan could not see the Triarian diplomat, but he spoke in a very deep and distinctive tone that was not difficult to recognize. The sound system was projecting Gyalaar's voice in such a way that it sounded as if he was right beside them. There were also holographic projections of the ambassador which were appearing at strategic locations throughout the crowd. The people with the signs stopped at the foot of one of the projections in order to listen more attentively, but the two Klingons did not have time to listen to a lecture. The difficulty was that the holographic images were so life-like that it was impossible to tell where the "real" Gyalaar was. K'Eihdan supposed that it was a security precaution, but at the moment it was stopping them from getting to Jorry and his family.

"Where is the _actual_ Gyalaar speaking?" K'Eihdan asked the woman that he had spoken to earlier on the shuttle, "We would like to demonstrate nearer to where he is."

The woman regarded K'Eihdan suspiciously.

"That is not necessary," she rebuked him, "Unless of course you have something on your mind other than protesting."

"I assure you we don't," K'Eihdan told her, realizing that his answer hardly reassured her.

K'Eihdan led Kabrech away from the protest, hoping that the woman would not alert the authorities. Evidently, the common people knew about the assassination attempt on Gyalaar's life, and believed that it might involve Klingons. He felt angry about being judged merely on the basis of his species, but there was little that they could do about it except to appear as non-threatening as possible.

Before long their progress was thwarted by a security officer, who stopped them and pulled them aside.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," a young man with a dark complexion said to them politely but firmly, "I'm Officer Morris Arkin of the Crime Investigations Unit. Can I see some identification, please?"

"Of course," K'Eihdan said to him, reaching into his jacket pocket and then realizing that he was wearing no jacket.

" _By the Black Fleet of Sto'Vo'Kor!"_ he exclaimed, "I left my jacket back in the woods to serve as a berry basket. Kabrech, do you..."

Kabrech shook his head, glowering at K'Eihdan.

" _By the rats of Gre'thor,_ K'Eihdan _!"_ Kabrech swore in frustration, " _You_ were the one who was carrying my I.D., because I am less than eighteen years of age! Stupid laws..."

"I'm sorry, guys," Officer Arkin told them apologetically, "but I'm going to have to take you in for questioning. The idea of Klingons who go berry-picking is not exactly resonating with me right now."

"We don't have time for questioning, Morris Arkin," K'Eihdan blurted out, "There is an Andorian out there who plans to kill the Triarian ambassador."

Arkin stared at them in shock. K'Eihdan realized that he had been foolish to tell the man, but their options were growing fewer by the minute. Kel had promised to kill Jorry if any of them alerted the authorities, and he had no doubt that Kel was dishonorable enough to perform such a sordid deed in front of the elderly Human's daughter and granddaughter.

Arkin brought out his phaser, leaving the pair little choice but to go with him to the nearest Crime Investigations Office.

"Why don't you go around arresting all the Andorians?" K'Eihdan asked, "You would have a better chance of stopping Kel that way than by arresting us."

"I'm not arresting you yet," Officer Arkin told them, "I'm just taking you into custody. The Chief will want to ask you some further questions. If you answer them honestly and there is no further evidence against you, you'll be free to leave."

"And by then, the Ambassador will be dead," K'Eihdan grumbled, "Listen to me, Human: the Chief has already questioned us extensively, and he told us to let him know if anyone approached us about the fur trade. Well, someone did, and his full name is An'Kel Th'Zaak, or simply Kel. He is Andorian, and he mistook my friends and I for the fur traders...but he told us that he will kill our Human friends if we speak to the authorities, so Jorry Kettsen and his family may be in trouble while we are wasting our time..."

"Tell it to the Chief," Arkin interrupted him, "I can't just go around arresting every Andorian at the conference."

"But you _can_ go around arresting every Klingon," Kabrech grumbled.

On their way to the Crime Investigations Office, they were obliged to walk across a court-yard lined with trees. There were few people here, and K'Eihdan could tell by the look on Kabrech's face that he wanted to jump Arkin and escape so that they could continue their quest to find Kel. K'Eihdan knew, however, that if they did that they would be instantly implicated and arrested before they could do anything. It would be better at this point in time to make allies of the Earth's security forces than to turn them into enemies.

Before they had traveled half-way down the path which led through the court-yard, however, they were suddenly accosted by a couple of burly Klingons. The two of them were exceedingly well-dressed, as in the manner of Humans; but K'Eihdan knew instinctively that the "civilized" apparel was nothing but a ruse.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" Officer Arkin asked, keeping his phaser ready.

K'Eihdan could sense the attack coming, and he pushed Arkin out of the way as one of the Klingons shot at him with his own phaser. The beam flashed past Arkin but caught his arm slightly as the Human hit the ground.

"R-r-r-rarrrrrgh!" Kabrech shouted, kicking the phaser out of the first Klingon's hand while the second one rushed at K'Eihdan.

K'Eihdan bared his teeth and brought out his claws, quickly causing a number of deep gashes in his opponent's face. This Klingon was very well-manicured and therefore had little defense against K'Eihdan's sharp " _rugbah_ claws" which were often used for hunting in the mountains back on Qo'nos. The wealthier people had less need for the claws and frequently clipped them, a practice which was quite unfortunate for them if they happened to be fighting with poor people. K'Eihdan managed to overpower his well-manicured foe and threw him to the ground, howling in victory.

The first Klingon had, however, succeeded in wrestling Kabrech to the ground as well. He stood up and slammed his boot into the boy's stomach, temporarily winding him.

"Take that, Mountain _P'takh_ ," he snarled.

He then charged K'Eihdan with his teeth bared, catching hold of his neck with his mouth. K'Eihdan turned to the side slightly to protect his vulnerable throat area but not quickly enough. He felt his airway closing as his enemy's upper teeth sunk into his thick neck-skin and his lower jaw closed around K'Eihdan's throat, seeking to pierce his jugular vein. He brought his claws up to the man's throat, desperately seeking to grab hold of it but he could feel himself losing the battle.

The attacking Klingon's body suddenly seized up violently as a phaser blast hit him from behind. His jaw dropped from K'Eihdan's throat and he fell to the ground.

K'Eihdan looked past the man to see K'Var, Wohl, and the Human Chief of Security running towards them.


	13. Which Image is Real?

3

 _ **Chapter Thirteen: Which Image is Real?**_

K'Var and Wohl immediately snapped handcuffs on the two wayward Klingons, K'Var arresting the one that K'Eihdan had thrown to the ground and Wohl securing the hands and feet of the one that the Security Chief had shot unconscious.

"He was lucky that it was the Security Chief who shot him," Wohl commented, "We likely would not have set the phaser to the 'stun' setting."

"These _P'takhs_ are not worthy of being killed in a phaser fight," K'Var snorted, kicking the conscious one's head, "they should live in disgrace for a very long time."

"What is your name, O-Wealthy-One-with-the-fine-nails?" K'Eihdan asked his nemesis, "and what do you know of the Andorian named An'Kel Th'Zaak?"

"I am Gaarn," the miserable prisoner replied proudly, "Son of the great warrior and nobleman Maarag; and it is you Mountain Rubbish-Rats who are the P'takhs, not us. Our Andorian counterpart will no doubt be killing the Triarian meddler Gyalaar at this very moment, while you fools collaborate with Humans to stop a centuries-old, noble tradition."

"Noble, my Raaag-aat," Kabrech snarled, clutching his stomach as he regained his composure.

The Security Chief was tending to Officer Morris Arkin, who appeared to be stunned but relatively unharmed. The Chief had called for back-up, and so a dozen security officers stormed the area and took the two wrong-doers into custody.

"The son of a great warrior, indeed!" K'Var spat, "both of these dishonorable rats shall remain nameless, as far as I am concerned."

The Chief and Officer Arkin joined the group.

"A big thank you, Commander K'Var, to you and your men," the Chief heralded them, "You were right, these two were obviously the ones whom Kel was supposed to meet."

"Klingons require no gratitude, Chief Romano," K'Var replied brusquely, "We need to stop the Andorian before he carries out his underhanded plot."

"I have my men on it," Chief Romano replied, "You guys can relax now."

K'Eihdan grimaced at the word "relax". He, like the others, had no intention of relaxing while Gyalaar, Jorry, Lira, and Marita were in danger.

After the Chief had departed to tend to the criminals, Arkin approached them.

"K'Eihdan," he asked, "Do you have any idea where An'Kel Th'Zaak and your friends might be? The Chief told me to go back to my beat, but I'm thinking now that we need you guys to stay involved until we get Th'Zaak."

"I'll have to use my hunter's instincts," K'Eihdan told him, "Follow me."

" _Hunter's instincts?!"_ K'Var growled, "The only thing K'Eihdan knows how to hunt down is a bottle of bloodwine."

K'Var hurried past K'Eihdan in order to remind him that he was the one in command. In spite of his skepticism about his inferior's hunting skills, K'Var agreed to move in the direction that the Mountain-Man was pointing.

Gyalaar's multiple holographic images were still speaking to the crowds as they passed one after the other. The Klingons could all smell the difference between a real Triar and a holographic image of one, and as Officer Arkin realized this he seemed to grow increasingly impressed by the Klingons.

K'Eihdan simply followed his instincts, breaking into a run as he passed all the holographic images of Gyalaar, each of which had crowds of people around them from every corner of the galaxy. The Triarian Ambassador certainly was getting his message across, but where was he in real-time?

"K'Eihdan!" K'Var yelled at him, "He's probably hidden away somewhere. We're not going to find him running around like a mad Mountain Bear!"

K'Eihdan felt a wave of frustration pass through him.

 _By the Warriors of Sto'Vo'Kor,_ K'Eihdan thought, _where are they?_

As soon as he had invoked the name of the warriors of Sto'Vo'Kor, the words of the nearest giant image of Gyalaar entered into his ears:

" _...and so, my friends throughout the galaxy and beyond," the voice intoned, "We are right here, right now, at a time where we can stop this fur trade from taking any more sacred lives...let us embrace the new interplanetary legislation, therefore, and take a step towards life."_

"Right here, right now...take a step towards life..." K'Eihdan murmured.

"What are you nattering on about, fool?" K'Var asked him irritably, "your 'hunter's instincts' have led to nothing!"

K'Eihdan did not respond to K'Var's taunts, but instead went running as fast as he could towards the giant image of Gyalaar. He was obliged to run around the crowds in order to get to the image, and so there was no time to explain his thinking to K'Var. To his relief, Kabrech and Arkin had followed along without argument. He could feel the presence of Jorry and his family members close by, and kept charging forwards. At one point, a security guard brought out his phaser and called "Halt, Klingon!" but Arkin persuaded him to let K'Eihdan through.

K'Eihdan did not hesitate, but ran around the holographic image until he came to a small building with a ramp leading downwards to a door. K'Eihdan slammed it open with the weight of his body, and to everyone's shock, they found a group of security officers lying on the floor unconscious. Arkin stopped to tend to them but K'Eihdan pressed on followed by Kabrech and, further behind, by K'Var and Wohl.

They turned the corner, but were met by the sight of An'Kel Th'Zaak shooting Ambassador Gyalaar with a thin, pen-like weapon. A narrow beam of blue light hit the Triar and Gyalaar fell to the floor with a thud; but not before K'Eihdan had slammed into Kel as he shot the weapon, bringing him down in one ferocious tumble. Jorry Kettsen and his daughter Lira were both shackled, but they each positioned their shackled hands around Kel's hands and feet in order to immobilize him. Kabrech ran ahead to find Marita tied and gagged in a corner of the room. He immediately ripped her ties with his teeth as she wrapped her arms around him.

K'Var helped K'Eihdan, Jorry, and Lira to secure Kel while Wohl went over to Gyalaar to administer whatever aid he could to the wounded creature. Before long, medical crews were pouring in to take the wounded security men and the Ambassador to the nearest medical facility.

Arkin and another officer pulled Kel to his feet and handcuffed him.

"You're too late," Kel called out to K'Eihdan as they led him away, "Gyalaar is dead."

Marita was sobbing, and Kabrech was trying his best to comfort her, at least in a rather awkward fashion.

Wohl and the attending nurse-medic waited until Kel had been taken away before making their announcement.

"No," Wohl told them softly, "He's not dead; but don't tell anyone just yet!"


	14. A Hospital Visit

3

 _ **Chapter Fourteen: A Hospital Visit**_

The four Klingons stood behind Jorry Kettsen and his daughter Lira as they each held one of Ambassador Gyalaar's furry hands. They had all been invited aboard the Triarian diplomatic vessel, the _Ch'Oone-Kaara,_ where Gyalaar was being given medical treatment within the ship's hospital while being protected by the powerful Triarian shielding which surrounded the entire ship.

"So, Gy," Kettsen said to him quietly, "You did it. You've sold everyone on the new interplanetary legislation, and they all want to help the Federation enforce it throughout the galaxy. If it's finally passed at the interplanetary level, it will make it hard for guys like Kel and those two Klingon fur traders to do business."

"There's still a lot of work to do," Gyalaar replied wearily, "but at least I survived the first and second assassination attempts. My old pal Kav wasn't so lucky."

"We're so sorry to hear that your aide did not pull through the poisoning, Ambassador," Lira said to him sadly, "but Dad and I will honor his memory by doing all we can to make sure Earth keeps this issue a top priority."

"And we have decided to speak for your people when we get back to Qo'nos, Gyalaar," K'Var interjected, "Our government may not consider it important, but we will put it forward nonetheless—your dedication to this cause has shown us that you and your people are beings of honor, in spite of your pacifism."

"Thanks, K'Var," Gyalaar responded, "That's a high compliment coming from a Klingon, and I appreciate it. I'll make sure I tell my government to send along the technological marvels, if you still want them."

"Don't you want to wait until our government supports some small aspect of your cause before you give us the technology?" K'Eihdan asked, "The likelihood that the Klingon High Council will want to do anything to help is next to nothing."

"That's okay," Gyalaar reassured them, "I'm giving it to your world as a gift, seeing as how you guys saved my life."

K'Eihdan felt uncomfortable with Gyalaar's beyond-generous offering. He knew that there were those on the Klingon High Council who would not be above taking the Triarian technology and giving nothing in return...just as they had done when dealing with the people of the Kahless Mountains and their natural resources.

"Commander K'Var!" K'Eihdan addressed his superior, "We know that the Council will likely take the technology and..."

"Yes, yes, K'Eihdan, I know!" K'Var interrupted him irritably, "but if we don't present them with something, the more honorable ones won't feel obliged to do anything...you as a Mountain _rugbah_ must know how it is with government. "

"Yeah, but don't get yourselves killed speaking for us," Gyalaar warned them, "That's not the point of this whole exercise. I should have thought this out better before I opened my big mouth, and then maybe Kav would still be alive."

"He died in honor, Gyalaar," Wohl interjected, "defending justice. We are all prepared to do the same...we would rather die than forsake our honor."

"Yeah, I know," the Ambassador responded, "about Klingons and their honor. You guys don't get to go to _Sto'Vo'Kor_ unless you die honorably—preferably in battle, is that how it goes?"

"That's right," Wohl told him, "If Klingons die dishonorably, like Gaarn and his miserable crime partner will one day, the Barge of the Dead will come and take them to _Gre'thor,_ land of the dishonored dead. When we die in honor as true warriors, we go to join the honored dead in _Sto'Vo'Kor_."

"That sounds pretty harsh to me," Marita opined, having just entered the room with a cup of tea for Gyalaar, "Even for criminals like Gaarn and his ilk. I mean, Kabrech told me that Gaarn thought what he was doing was a noble tradition."

"We do not think that explanation was sincere, Marita," Kabrech told her, "and you should ask Gyalaar if he thinks the murders of his people constitute a 'noble tradition'."

"I know, I know, Kabrech!" Marita replied, handing the tea to her father Jorry so that he could help the diplomat to drink it, "I'm sorry, Ambassador, I didn't mean to say that it was all right for them to kill your people—it definitely isn't."

"Hey, it's fine, Marita," Gyalaar reassured her, "I know what you're saying ...everybody has a different understanding of what an action means. That's why it's so damn hard being a diplomat...you have to see things from 'everyone's' perspective and then come up with a compromise that nobody's happy with...I believe an Andorian Commander came up with that definition of compromise about two centuries ago."

"Speaking of the Andorians, Gy," Jorry Kettsen told him, "The Andorian Ambassador has condemned the assassination attempts in no uncertain terms. She says that Kel is not acting on behalf of Andorians and that she will work with her government to do its part to end the fur trade, at least on Andoria. The Vulcans have made a similar promise."

Gyalaar nodded in approval, taking a sip of the tea that Jorry was holding up to his lips.

"That's all any of us can do," he responded hoarsely, "each world doing a little bit will make a big difference when done in concert with the others."

K'Var stepped forward to address Gyalaar.

"Gyalaar," he told him, "You are growing weary, and we need to stop the chatter. I and my men will take our leave now. You have my word of honor concerning your noble cause."

"The word of honor of true warriors, like you and your men, K'Var," Gyalaar said, "is something I now completely trust. Thanks, guys, for everything...especially you, K'Eihdan. That little beam from Kel's handy-dandy 'poisonous nerve-destroying pencil' or whatever it was would have completely obliterated me if it had hit me straight on at full power, even with the personal shielding that I had on under my tunic. You tackling him kind of messed up the attack...it should have killed me when it touched me, but it hit at the wrong angle so I was in luck that day. The doctor says I'll eventually recover from the nerve damage to some degree, but I'll likely need to use a mid-air chair for the rest of my life."

K'Eihdan stared at the Triar awkwardly. The idea of having to cope with a life-long disability was not something that people in the Klingon culture liked to contemplate, let alone discuss. He was embarrassed and, not knowing what to say, he simply nodded his head. As he moved to follow the Commander out the door, Marita stopped him.

"Just a minute, K'Eihdan!" she shouted, "Dad spoke to Commander K'Var, and all four of you are going to come with us on a trip to the ocean...Ambassador Gyalaar too, if the doctor lets him. We're going to introduce you to an Earth beach where you can do some serious sailing, swimming, and surfing. You guys deserve to have a holiday before you go back to your strict, boring old military life."

K'Eihdan stared at Marita in surprise. K'Var turned towards him with a look of chagrin on his face.

"I didn't want to offend the girl's delicate Human sensibilities," K'Var whispered to him by way of explanation.

"Very well," K'Eihdan finally replied to her, "If your father Jorry Kettsen agrees to this, Marita, then we have no choice. He is still our Commander, after all."

"Yeah," Kettsen called to him, "and I'm ordering you all to come with us to the beach, K'Eihdan. We've decided to honor you with the reward of being the first-ever Klingon beach bums."


	15. Sailing Away

3

 _ **Chapter Fifteen: Sailing Away**_

K'Eihdan, Kabrech, K'Var, and Wohl had been staying with Jorry and his family at Lira's beach house for a week. Ambassador Gyalaar had managed to convince the doctors to let him come to visit them for a day, but after that he was ordered back to the Triarian diplomatic vessel the _Ch'Oone-Kaara_ for security reasons. As he left them, he remarked that the day by the ocean had done more to help him heal than three weeks in the ship's hospital facility; but nonetheless, the Triarian and Earth governments wanted to take no chances and so he was obliged to return to the ship.

Marita had been upset, but had taken her mind off of it by teaching Kabrech and K'Eihdan how to "surf" the ocean waves. K'Eihdan had not quite gotten the hang of it and had frequently "wiped out" as the natives here called it, very nearly drowning a couple of times; but he nonetheless took it all in good humor. Kabrech, on the other hand, was determined to master the art of "wave riding". He kept paddling his board out into the water, making continuous attempts to remain standing while catching the wave back into shore. Reluctant at first to try something new, Kabrech had soon decided that he would become a "wave warrior" and conquer the Earth's oceans before their sojourn on the Human world ended.

K'Var and Wohl had declined to try the odd sport as they were not swimmers. K'Eihdan and Kabrech had grown up swimming in the cold mountain lakes near their family home, however, and so it was not quite as onerous a task for them. The ocean water here was decidedly much warmer than that of the lakes, and because it was salt-water it took some adjustment on their part. Every time that K'Eihdan had wiped out, he had felt as though he'd just stuck his mouth into one of the Empire's salt mines.

Jorry took them all sailing during the afternoons, and this gave the Klingons an opportunity to go fishing as well as learning how to take the helm of an Earth boat.

On the Klingons' last day, they all made out to sea in one of Jorry's biggest boats. K'Eihdan let his long hair flow out into the water as they came about, luxuriating in the sun and the waves.

"You know, Jorry Kettsen," he said to their host, "I could get used to having these 'vacations' on Earth. Perhaps we could invent some reason to come here every year, Commander K'Var?"

K'Var sat cross-legged in the middle of the boat, grunting. Their leader hated to admit it, but he too was beginning to enjoy the strange Human art of "relaxing" as they called it.

"We are indeed grateful to you, Kettsen," Wohl said to him, "This is not something we would normally be permitted to do while visiting another world. I may consider coming here before I die, when I am too old to be of use to the Empire."

"You're welcome any time, Wohl," Kettsen told him, "I'll bet that this place sure beats Sto'Vo'Kor."

"No place beats Sto'Vo'Kor," Wohl chided Jorry, "but even so, it would be pleasant to come here one last time...while I am still alive in _this_ Universe."

"I want to go to the Klingon Empire," Marita commented, to everyone's surprise, "I want to visit K'Eihdan and Kabrech's sisters—their names are Marl, Br'nkang, and Wohn-Mara. They're around my age, K'Eihdan says."

"You would be most welcome, Marita," Kabrech said, "But I doubt very much that your family will allow it."

"You got that right, Kabrech," Lira interjected protectively, "I've loved having you guys here, but I'm really not sure about us going to the Klingon Empire! I mean, Dad had quite the time when he was working aboard that Klingon cargo vessel many years ago."

"Grandpa was seventeen when he served aboard the _Kah-Dok_ ," Marita argued, "and in a couple of years, I'll be eighteen. I think I'd like to arrange to have an interplanetary exchange with the Empire, where I go to visit Kabrech's sisters and one of them comes here to visit me...I mean, we already have those kinds of youth exchange programs with Vulcan, Tellar, and Andoria, so why not Qo'nos?"

"And what about Kabrech?" Jorry asked knowingly, "Would he be part of the exchange?"

"Grandpa!" Marita exclaimed, embarrassed, "Kabrech will probably be out fighting for the Empire."

Kabrech and Marita looked at each other longingly. They both knew that a relationship between them would not work because of their cultural and physiological differences, but that had not stopped them from bonding during this little holiday.

For that matter, K'Eihdan had found an opportunity to get to know Marita's mother, the beautiful Lira, a little better; and he found himself tempted to want to stay here with her in this ocean paradise. He knew that it was impossible, of course, but it had been like a wonderful dream as they pretended to be Human for a week.

"We will need to leave tomorrow, Kettsen," K'Var told their host, as if sensing his underlings' growing comfort with 'relaxation', "Before K'Eihdan and Kabrech get any further ideas about your family members."

"Well, you all have my contact information if you ever come back this way," Kettsen replied, "I doubt you'll be seeing me on Qo'nos, or even the Spaceflight 500 run after this. I've decided to retire."

Marita looked sad as she gazed into Kabrech's eyes, but they all knew it was for the best that the group left this world now that the mission had been completed.

The next day, the four men packed their small satchels and bade the Kettsen family good-bye in their usual brusque Klingon fashion. K'Var seemed to be in a hurry to get away, K'Eihdan noticed. It was probably because he knew that if they stayed any longer they would not want to return to the Empire and its business.

As they were walking away to board their ground-shuttle, Marita ran after them and quickly put her lips to Kabrech's face. Kabrech stared at her in confusion.

"I think it's a part of their mating rituals," K'Eihdan whispered to him, "Come on—we have to go, brother."

Kabrech nearly stumbled getting on to the ground shuttle that was to take them to the beaming platform in Terra City, and Lira had to come out to coax Marita back to the beach house.

"Good-bye, K'Eihdan," she called to him as she led her daughter away.

K'Eihdan grinned at Lira in an awkward manner before turning away from her sadly and distracting his mind with his brother's romantic escapades.

"Have you forgotten about K'aabra back home, Kabrech?" K'Eihdan teased him as they sat together on the shuttle.

"No," Kabrech told him bluntly, "Marita is beautiful, but she is Human. I still hold out hope of marrying the noble K'aabra one day, for I am a Klingon warrior! I am a man!"

K'Eihdan chuckled at his adolescent brother.

"Yes, Kabrech," he conceded, "You're finally getting there."

The shuttle glided away into the sunset, carrying the four warriors along the road on their journey home.


End file.
